In Regards to Conservatives Fierce Defense of Child Rape

Conservatives heard about Josh Duggar raping at least 5 of his very young sisters. They heard about how his parents knew, tried to cover it all up, and sickeningly allowed it to continue for an entire year after they learned about it.

The timeline shows one sick thing after another:

1. The family only contacting elders of their weird church, where Josh was arranged to receive "counseling" from a bullshit treatment program. (Doing manual labor on a building for the GD Hobby Lobby ISN'T TREATMENT!!) Oh, and the guy running the program was a sexual offender as well.
2. The molestation continued, and Jim Bob Duggar told "law enforcement". Well, a close friend who happened to be a state trooper, but with the understanding that no charges would be filed. The state trooper gave Josh a "stern talking to", and all was forgiven. Jim Bob's friendly state trooper, of course, was also embroiled in his own child sex scandal where he was later sentenced to 56 years in prison for child pornography.
3. Anonymous tips lead to a real investigation. Unfortunately, the day that the Washington Post makes a FOI request for the records, a court order is issued to destroy them all.

Josh Duggar's net worth is half a million. He had a lucrative job at the Family Research Council giving speeches on how it's gay people who harm children.

All of this should piss you off. I would think that this transcends political ideology and that conservatives should be angry as well.

OH, and they are!!---at the media for bringing it up.

I am so incredibly sorry that you’re even having to post this [apology] on your Facebook page.

The media can be shameless & so hurtful

The comments from the "moral values" crowd defending the most heinous action you could do with a small child are shocking and ludicrous. It started when one of those asshats argued with me that, first of all, there is no such thing as "child rape"--it is all "molestation". He was actually quibbling over calling it molestation because somehow that sounded better than rape. (There was digital penetration, genius, which is rape. But if it you makes you "feel better", then please: call it "incestuous molestation". Better?)

It got a lot worse.

You can go to Josh's facebook or instagram page and see these sickos for yourself, as well as any conservative discussion board. They are so bad that Salon.com and the DailyMail compiled several lists of conservatives' disgusting themes in defense of child rape:

• It was just a "mistake" (not a serious crime)
• His apology was tough enough
• Liberal media is mean
• Jesus forgave him so shut up (what, did He call and tell you?)
• We all have "skeletons in our closet"
• It's so much better than being gay because at least he stopped doing it
• Everyone else is doing it, so let's all chill out (really! several people said this! One sick bastard even said his uncle is a pedophile and NO BIG WHOOP!)

A lot of them use the term "sensationalizing" the story, as if anyone can exaggerate how bad and wrong it is to RAPE A YOUNG CHILD!! (oh, and Benghazi).

One of the worst ones (there were many) were a variation on this theme:

• Children all lie and exaggerate, so it probably wasn't as bad as people are making it out to be.

If any kid is reading this and you actually hear your parents say garbage like this, I plead with you: RUN!!! (I hope to God someone will take the small Duggar girls away from those enabling monsters who dare call themselves "parents".)

Many cons have used the term "sensationalizing" the story. This exact word came from Mike Huckabee's very long-winded and despicable defense of Josh Duggar's child raping habit. Huckabee told everyone to relax: raping a small child is a forgivable offense, but the real crime is how mean normal people are for being so upset about this.

According to that rat bastard, it's okay to hide behind Jesus when committing horrific crimes. The real sin, Huckabee says, is being born homosexual and those of us who support their basic rights. WE are the ones going to hell. As are women who want control of their own bodies. As are medical patients who want medicinal relief that isn't harsh or addictive.

But child rape? Apparently that's cool.

This isn't the first time Huckabee defended child rape.

In Ted Nugent's 1998 episode of VH1’s Behind The Music, Ted proudly admits to repeatedly raping underage girls. (They sickeningly referred to it as “his weakness for young women"). This is a man who coaxed a 12-year old to give him oral sex. He wrote a song about violently raping a 13-year-old, and another song about what he did in real life: became the legal guardian of an underage girl JUST SO he could have sex with her.

For crying out loud, his freaking songlist includes "Jailbait" and "I Am a Predator". (Seriously, how less ambiguous can he be?!)

Huckabee didn't lecture Ted at all. Instead, he invited this serial pedophile to ride with Huck as he campaigned as a conservative "family values" candidate.

Hell, on Huckabee's show on Fox, Mikey even jammed with that rapist while singing about having sex as a 10-year old!!

Huckabee also fiercely defended Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty, and even led the boycott of Cracker Barrel when they pulled Phil's tchotchkes from their shelves. This happened right after Phil told an audience that 20-year olds were too old to marry and instead they should go after 15-year olds!

All of this, and Huckabee still thinks he has some moral authority to deem the Duggars great parents while simultaneously criticizing the Obamas as "corrupting" their kids because they let them listen to Beyonce. (As far as I know, she never sang about raping a child.)

OH, and BTW Mike? Someone who tries to cover up their own son violently murdering a dog needs to shut the hell up on parenting.

And then there's Bill O'Reilly, who gleefully told Greta Van Sustren that a 15-year-old kidnap victim and victim of 4 years of serial rape must have "liked" his situation because he didn't have to go to school. (H/T Blue in NC)

I know it is pointless to argue with cons on child rape because they are often insane. They believe in this crap about "Babylon's laws" or "Man's Law", which is not Biblical Law.

OK, I'll play that game too. You know what the Bible says on abortion or homosexuality?? Nothing. Nowhere in either the Old or New Testaments is "abortion" forbidden, and nowhere in the Bible did Jesus say one word about homosexuality. Right-wing pseudo-Christians apparently think Christianity is defined as opposition to abortion, homosexuality and pre-marital sex: the three things Jesus NEVER. MENTIONED. ONCE.

(He did have entire chapters devoted to helping the poor, but F_ that I guess.)

In the Holy Book, all sorts of horrible acts are explicitly condemned and/or proscribed, but not any of those three are even brought up.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS CONDEMNED IN THE BIBLE? Rape!!

The Bible unequivocally condemns rape of any kind (Deuteronomy 22) and even states the punishment for it should be the most extreme punishment possible--death for the rapist. If we are going all Biblical, then Josh Duggar should be killed.

No one is calling for that. Apparently, cons think killing someone is only okay for someone selling loose cigarettes or walking home from the store after buying Skittles.

I was absolutely horrified when ISIS was trying to religiously justify prepubescent rape. Conservatives, in their zealous defense of a fellow homo-hater, are trying to do the same thing. Looking at how ISIS treats "infidels" and homosexuals, and looking how they justify their heinous crimes, it isn't ISIS itself who is a threat---it's those in our country who apparently want to emulate them.

The Feds Didn't Blink....They'll Force Scott to Think!

The recent offer by the feds to provide a lesser scale of funding for the Low Income Pool is being characterized by some as a caving in to Rick Scott, or as "blinking" in this game of funding chicken. Others are saying it's more like a rescue mission so that the poor in this state don't end up suffering because of Scott's stubbornness. You can count me among those who go with the second choice, and add this: I think it's a tactical concession that is meant to force Scott to further reveal himself for what he really is.

As of this moment, the feds have the high moral ground. They've offered a compromise that will allow Florida -- if Scott and the Legislature want it -- to continue to fund this desperate need for the next two years. After all, Florida has an almost two billion dollar surplus projected (or 8 billion, if you believe Scott). They could make up for themselves much of what would be cut from the LIP grant for the next fiscal year. If they wanted to.

Of course, that may mean that Scott will have to break a campaign promise or two, such as not funding education as high as he campaigned on. But since this was a guy who promised in 2009 not to cut education, and immediately did so anyway, I'm sure that would disturb him about as much as a housefly would disturb Godzilla.

Or, Scott might have to compromise by not delivering more of those delicious tax cuts to big business....or even that generous $14 per year he was offering us peons who live in the trenches as a savings on our cable TV bill. But if that's the case, Scott will still be forced to show his hand: Will he consider tax breaks for his business allies more important -- or the health and welfare of the poor, sick, and vulnerable? If he chooses the first option, he'll play right into the hands of his opposition.

I think the feds also know that there's a good chance that Scott, demagogue that he is, will say NO to this offer, and continue his lawsuit against the feds, demanding that they send him ALL the money he wants for LIP. All his talk of a state government shutdown may be a hint not of what he expects from a recalcitrant Legislature, but of what he plans to do, as far as he can make it possible, through his own executive power. This is the true coloration of Rick Scott, Hospital CEO, coming through now that he has nothing to lose and no election to face. I think the feds know this. And I think they're using it to paint Scott into a corner. You can just see his eyes nervously darting back and forth as he looks for a way out. There probably isn't one, not that makes Scott come out looking like the caring hero.

Earlier this year I asked whether to expect Happy Face Rick Scott or Tea Party Rick Scott. It looks like I forgot an even more extreme option: Temper Tantrum Tyrant Scott. I'll have to keep that title in mind from now on.

Meanwhile, Rick Scott Became Socialist (no, seriously)

The teaparty darling who hates all things Obama has allowed his hatred to go so far that he is parting with his core ideology.

Florida's healthcare crisis is sinking us. Scott refuses to accept the federal money to expand Medicaid. (He said before the election last year that he would accept the money because of his dead mother, but now says it was all a ruse. That happened.)

On top of that, Scott was depending on a "federal handout" temporary program called LIP (Low Income Pool) that somehow he thought he was still getting even though for years he was told the program was due to expire this June. This completely unnecessary and avoidable crisis has gotten so bad that our numbskull legislators were actually working towards a plan to accept the Medicaid expansion and phase out LIP. Scott decided screw that and said it would be a more neat idea to sue Obama.

This is what happens when Dems don't vote: They automatically vote republican and everyone loses.

Rick Scott knows that this lawsuit isn't going to work. So Scott sent a letter to all the nonprofit hospitals. (Profit hospitals gave him money, so they are cool.) Scott asked the poor hospitals to "share thier profits" if they received federal money to treat the poor. His letter blasted them for being greedy and said they should spread the wealth around.

Just imagine if a Democratic governor would do this. (Don't worry, it won't happen anytime soon.)

By the way, the people who constantly rake Florida citizens over the coals aren't being asked to share the wealth: Not our gouging electric companies, not our private companies who run our disastrous prison systems, not the charter schools, nor any of the EXTREMELY wealthy benefactors of Scott's crony system. Since they have all given him big money, they are exempt from Scott's Socialist paradise.

Only those who are suffering from a crisis of his own making are being asked to contribute due to their audacity to care for the overwhelming majority of Medicaid patients and uninsured.

Scott even had the nerve to to demand financial data from these hospitals so he can dissect it and demand they pony up. The hospital's response was great. It was essentially "it's public knowledge, look it up yourself." They also gave him some good advice for a better solution: expand Medicaid, you idiot.

The CEO of one these hospitals had to remind Scott that surpluses are distributed quickly to help those in need... hence the concept of non-profit.

Scott will sink this state before he does anything to help a poor person. We are talking about a man here who threw his own mother under the bus for a ruse, a man responsible for the largest Medicaid fraud in history, and apparently, a man who will now embrace Karl Marx and push for "redistribution" of wealth. (Well, redistribution from only for those who help the poor.)

Conservatives aren't upset about this at all, of course. They have no real principles either--except for looking out for rich, white guys. What's funny is that no one is even trying to hide this anymore. I am certain Scott will run ads in 2018 for Senate saying "Vote for me because F- You".

And we will.

Hospitals and State Agencies Tell Rick Scott to Go Fly a Kite!

It's nice to see this kind of reaction from both hospitals and state agencies filtering up the ladder, but really, who's surprised? Late breaking report, Rick: When you act like a dictator in a free republic, you get treated with the contempt a dictator deserves.

Rick Scott's Hospital Plan Has Even the FL GOP Eating Him Alive!

These days it's hard to know when to write a few words about what Rick Scott is up to, because within 24 hours, there's a good chance he'll have done something even more outrageous. That will probably happen again, but this frozen moment in time is too good to pass up for comment.

You surely know by now that as a way to cover his refusal to accept federal money tainted by Obamacare cooties, Scott has created a commission, set to meet midweek, to propose ways for hospitals to save money. The ironies that this has produced occurred to me almost as soon as he made the announcement, but you'd never expect any of them to be acknowledged even by his own ideological comrades.

The ironies all boil down to this proposal by Florida Governor Scott being something that HCA hospital CEO Scott would never have tolerated. Not in ten billion skillion years would CEO Scott have allowed it.

Not without going on every Fox News show to complain about "government intrusion into business interests."Not without filing a nuisance lawsuit or two. Not without saying it was none of the government's business how much his hospital paid lobbyists, or how much his salary as CEO was.

People all across the ideological spectrum are noticing the hypocrisy, as you might expect: It's as hard to miss as ten dozen rotten eggs in a rose garden.

Sure, we'd expect the malodorous hypocrisy of this situation to be noticed by some people who share with us a high level of distaste for Scott already -- people like Andy Marlette of the Pensacola News-Journal:

"[T]his is an astounding unmasking for a man who bought his way into the governor’s mansion on the backs of musket-wielding, Ayn Rand-citing Tea Partiers who demanded a more laissez-faire approach from our governmental authorities."

"Gov. Scott, in fact, is a very, very rich man who made millions in personal profits as CEO of a profit-hungry hospital chain guilty of the largest case of Medicare fraud in U.S. history. So shall the good governor be sharing those profits with the rest of us?"

"When criminality conspires with hypocrisy, we workin’ folks might as well ask for a cut of the cash."

We'd even expect it to be noticed, as it is in this article, by Paula Dockery, one of the closest things this state has to a reasonable Republican:

"To really confuse the issue, Scott created a commission to examine hospital finances, claiming hospitals seeking LIP funds are too profitable. He suggested the hospitals should share their profits. Huh? He is suing the feds to get funding for hospitals that are too profitable? And he thinks socializing their profits is good policy?"

But the biggest surprise of all? How about this, from Tea Party darling Senator Don Gaetz?

“When Governor Scott, who as you know made probably hundreds of millions of dollars buying and selling hospitals, said this, my first thought was, ‘What an extraordinary and generous impulse. Clearly, he’s going to make this retroactive’… but apparently not.”

[Gaetz] then called out Scott for trying to introduce “socialism” into the state’s health care system by “forcibly extracting” revenues from one business and giving it to another.

“That’s government price controls,” he added, “that really brought the Soviet Union into a ‘Going Out of Business’ sale.”

You read that right. The FL Tea Party GOP is now consuming its own in a feeding frenzy.

CO Restaurant: Jun 11 is White Appreciation Day

Thank God somebody is finally giving stuff to my people for a change:

Colorado Restaurant Faces Criticism for Offering Discounts to White Customers

Having all the political power, the overwhelming majority of the nation's wealth, almost all of the corporate executive positions, full media representation and centuries of institutional structure backing I would trade for a second if I could only get a day where people appreciate our paleness.

But at least I will now get 10% off of crappy food from a ultra-dumpy BBQ place for my skin color. So all is better now I guess.

Edgar Antillon, owner of Rubbin Buttz BBQ and Country Café in Milliken, Colorado, is a self-hating Mexican republican. How successful the GOP has been. This awful political party has at its core a mission is to protect the white, powerful ruling class. They have been so successful at shaming and blaming the poorest and most powerless among us for our nation's ills, (black "thugs" and Hispanic "invaders"), that they have apparently created self-hating minorities who buy into "white oppression".

The owner complained about minority history months and said “the least we could do is offer one day to appreciate white Americans.”

The reason we even have any kind of unofficial acknowledgement of minority history is because many school boards DO NOT teach any of it in schools. The only black history I ever read is slavery and civil rights, and even THAT is too much for republicans. There is no "white people" history month is because that is the rest of textbook! I am very familiar with European history and the white people who led our nation. I am also very familiar with each individual nation in Europe. Africa, on the other hand, gets to be one giant conglomerate who few people know much of anything.

Let me ask these people who think we don't need any minority history: Can you tell me the difference between France and Italy? Good. What about Kenya and Nigeria?

Do you know George Washington? Alexander the Great? Do you know what Hitler did? Of course you do.

Do you know anything about the richest man in all of history? Mansa Musa?

What about Shaka Zulu? The Zulu king who united southern Africa?

Do you know who Madame CJ Walker is? How about Severo Ochoa?

Do you know what Cesar Chavez did? Or even who he is?

Didn't ever wonder why US Army victories over American Indians were called "battles", and yet their victories are still called "massacres"?

THAT is why there is a month to try to focus attention on other people in this nation who aren't Caucasian. It isn't trying to, nor is it, take anything away from white people. Rather, the opposite: minorities are just asking for someone to at least acknowledge their rich and cultural history as well. Dear Lord, you are NOT being oppressed because of a non-mandatory acknowledgment that there are other people who contributed to history besides white people.

Anyways, you can see their "white appreciation day" sign on thier facebook page. Naturally, bigots are thrilled about this.

The website they took down, but they are still taking food orders at here and it provides their contact info:

1-970-578-9227

903 Broad St., Milliken, CO 80543

If CO peeps go on June 11 and are not offered a discount because of your skin color, Jennifer McPherson with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies said you can file a complaint.

This is 2015, not 1915. Talk about history repeating itself.

Rick Scott Just Admitted to Using His Dead Mother for Campaign Lie!

What kind of monster would go on national TV right after his mother's death to say the event changed his perspective and he could no longer "in good conscience" oppose expanding health care coverage to nearly 1 million Floridians---and then admit it was all a lie?

Rick Scott!!

"The Least Effective, Most Incompetent Governor in Modern Florida History"

And if yesterday's news weren't bad enough for Rick Scott...check this scathing piece from the Miami Herald, which says, among other things, the following:

"At a time when legislative leaders desperately needed intervention to break a budget deadlock, Scott was far from the action — attending political fund-raisers, casting for jobs in California and dedicating a new amusement park ride in Orlando."

" “I would rank Scott as the least effective, most incompetent governor in modern Florida history,” said Darryl Paulson, professor emeritus of political science at USF St. Petersburg and a registered Republican who has written about Florida politics for 30 years. “Scott was largely absent from the legislative session. He does not understand the process and he is not highly respected even by Republicans in the Legislature.” "

"Scott has a standoffish style. He does not regularly knock on lawmakers’ doors or invite them to the mansion for dinner the way Jeb Bush and other former governors did."

"His reputation for aloofness makes it hard to reach essential compromises with legislators, and Scott paid a price for that. The Senate refused to confirm a dozen of his agency heads, including those who oversee Medicaid, public health, transportation and Ken Detzner, the chief state elections official. As a result, Scott must reappoint them within 45 days."

"All in all, it was the shabbiest treatment Scott has received from the Legislature since he became governor more than four years ago."

Is this any surprise when you elect a lizard to public office?

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article20106537.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article20106537.html#storylink=cpy

Rick Scott Loses in Court....AGAIN!

Tricky Rick was really feeling his oats when he won two court cases early on in his term (stealing 3% from state workers, getting prison medical services privatized), but lately he's been 0 for 3. He lost on drug tests for welfare recipients and state workers. Now he just got his shiny dome handed to him on a platter regarding his use of private email.

Whether this will end up providing us with some delicious servings that will help get him into an orange jumpsuit, where he belongs, remains to be seen. But it's nice to see him cowering in a corner with yet another self-inflicted black eye.

 

Today is 20th Anniversary of OKC Bombing. Hannity Still Praises the Teabaggers as "Tim McVeigh Wannabees"

On 04/19/1995, a horrible civilian bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City killed 168 people and severely injured 680 more. The goddamned domestic terrorist, Tim McVeigh, didn't even care that a lot of the victims were children and babies at a DAY CARE!!!

Sean Hannity owes an apology to the families.

Hannity praised the tea partiers back in 2010 as being "Tim McVeigh Wannabees". They cheered. My soul died a little.

SEE FOR YOURSELF!

HANNITY: See, can I add one thing? I think we won the debate.

DREIER: We did win the debate.

HANNITY: When you think about the vast majorities that they have in Congress and they had to bribe, backroom deals, corruption, that’s all because the tea party movement, the people — all these Tim McVeigh wannabes here.

(DISGUSTING CHEERS AND APPLAUSE FROM TEABAG CROWD)

HANNITY: Guys, thank you for being here.

Hannity refuses to apologize but has never defended his actions. He hopes people will forget, which many have. (Just try to imagine if anyone on our side said something this stupid.)

Don't let up!!! On this 20th anniversary, DEMAND an apology for the victim's families:

His twitter

His facebook

Anywhere else...

Latest Corrections Barometer Reading: Low Pressure on the Wrongdoers

The Tampa Bay Times has a look at the calculated inaction by the Scott crony network concerning Florida's current prison crisis. The most telling lowlight: There is no plan to rework contracts with corrupt prison health providers until January 2016.

Why are these inept providers being allowed 7 more months of free ride to profit, while Florida's record inmate deaths continue to climb? You need only guess once:

"Rep. Katie Edwards, D-Plantation, said she blames Florida's weak contracts with the health care companies on the access their high-profile lobbyists have had to the governor and key lawmakers. Bill Rubin, the lobbyist for Wexford, worked for Scott when he was head of the hospital giant HCA and remains influential, and Brian Ballard, lobbyist for Corizon, was head of Scott's political finance committee." 

That wasn't very mysterious, was it? In fact, it's like one of those giant "L" symbols on the weather map!

The Medicaid Expansion Paradox

I'm sure I don't need to fill readers of this blog in on the latest Rick Scott debacle involving his proposed lawsuit against the federal government over funding for hospital services for the poor. The drama is getting so thick, with Scott accusing the feds of "bullying" him and acting like mobsters, that in terms of Scott's performance, the only question is whether the comic value of Scott's performance will exceed the tragic consequences of his refusal to do the right thing. 

What I find remarkable, however, has been the long-standing reason that has been given by Scott (as well as the Florida House) for refusing the Medicaid expansion. I'll quote one of the leading nausea-producing sources on this subject, Americans for Prosperity:

"Medicaid will put an enormous financial burden on our state in the future. Expected costs have been all over the board ranging from $3 billion to more than $20 billion over the next ten years, but what is known is that Medicaid spending is expected to more than double by 2020 and Florida will be relying on the federal government to pay these costs, despite the inability of the federal government to pay its current bills. Don’t put this risk on the backs of Florida’s families."

Now for a moment, let's consider the structure of this appeal and peel back the logic. This is how it reads.

Right now, hundreds of thousands of poor Floridians are not receiving the medical care they need, because we have not accepted the Medicaid expansion.

The reason given for not accepting the Medicaid expansion is that the feds may not pay their bills for it, and it could end up "on the backs of Florida families." (We'll bypass the question of why poor people aren't also parts of "families" that have expenses on their own backs.)

But it seems obvious that if somehow, the feds stop paying the bills, all the Florida GOP will do is say, "We won't pay those bills either, or make [well off] Floridians pay for them." In other words, all they'd do is say that we'll just have to return to what the status quo was before the Medicaid expansion.

Do you see how it goes? Scott and his Tea Party allies are rejecting the Medicaid expansion on the basis that they are afraid it will end up so that things are exactly as they are right now for Florida's poor and medically needy.

We already know that you have to be particularly out of touch with reality to support Rick Scott. It helps, though, to have an example of why that's the case.

Photo: Longwood Bakery Gives Epic Response to Its Anti-Gay Harassers

Recall that Cut the Cake, Inc. in Longwood, Florida was receiving death threats, harassing calls, fake orders, fake reviews and threats of vandalism from conservatives all over the nation because they hung up on a nut (on April Fool's Day) who said he wanted an anti-gay message on a sheet cake.

The DKos community swung into action. A thousand people uprated their Facebook page to destroy the fake reviews (all who suddenly remembered on April 2 that they used them once and didn't like them). Real orders poured in. They raised well over their goal on a crowdfunding site to recoup the week they had to close over the threats.

And a whole new customer base showed up to purchase their products.

The icing on the cake (pun intended) was a masterpiece for two same-sex conservatives who will eventually embrace who they are and wish to celebrate their now LEGAL union in Florida:



Their facebook page is featuring it. Standing up to bullies never tasted so delicious!

Be kind and peaceful to each other

And don't eat recycled food.

I'm Glad the Democratic Establishment Isn't Backing Alan Grayson!

The Democratic establishment has aligned themselves with Mr. Patrick Murphy.

Rep. Patrick Murphy was a former conservative republican, like Charlie Crist. The difference? Patrick still has conservative ties.

ACA: He joined the GOP in their effort to destroy the ACA by voting to shift insurance costs to working people from wealthy corporate families. Because Sam Walton's family need the break, not the people who work for them.

Environment: I love getting lectures from establishment Dems that Murphy is an environmentalist who will fight climate change. Activists like Jill Silber Sheridan tell a different story. When she visited Rep. Murphy's office on several occasions about climate change and the Keystone pipeline, it fell on deaf ears. Murphy voted to approve the pipeline.

Minority Leader Pelosi: When the GOP voted against Nancy Pelosi, I expected that. I did NOT expect Murphy to stand with them and vote against her as well.

Wall Street: He voted to weaken provisions in the Dodd-Frank financial law. He is the quintessential "Wall St. Democrat"

Social Security and Medicare: He coauthored a letter with congressional Republicans that only promised to protect “current beneficiaries” of Medicare and Social Security. (To be fair, he never used the word "cuts" to SS/Medicare as some have said but did say "structural changes").

Certain Democrats believe the winning strategy is to run from their own party's successful platform that has turned the economy around and gave healthcare to millions. Unfortunately, these same Democrats are the ones in charge. They keep trying like hell to cram anointed, conservative candidates down our throats, and then berate their own base for speaking out against them. Teabaggers don't know how good they have it. The GOP establishment hates them but fears them. Our establishment just hates us. MUST READ: Robert Reich's problem with the current Democratic Party

Murphites are calling their critics all kinds of names on social media because they bought the line that we have to go after the mythical "fence sitter", instead of just motivating their base to turn out. For crying out loud, there are many more Dems in this state than GOP, like a half-million more, but they won't come out if they can't see a difference.

We've tried running former republicans or GOP-lite candidates in almost every statewide race for 17 years and have been repeatedly met with failure. Perhaps, just once, we can try a progressive candidate.

Alan Grayson is that candidate. The fact that the establishment hates him is a GOOD sign. I'd be terrified if the state party was backing my campaign in the primary. That never ends well. Alan will fight hard and, in return, will get motivated forces who will actually fight hard for him to win. Murphy will get little more than people showing up on election day to vote for Hillary.

Alan needs to get in the game NOW and start his campaign. I am asking everyone to contact him on his website and say that you will be all in if he decides to run.

Murphy has raised 750,000, mostly from PACs who are lining up behind him. Alan Grayson already has national recognition. He has a ton of devoted followers. He is a proven fundraiser who won in a district that is 40% Hispanic. Best of all, has gone head to head with the Kochs and WON!

Let me be clear. If Patrick Murphy wins the primary, he will have my full support. We desperately need to win the Senate back in 2016. He supports minimum wage laws, gay rights, fair elections and women's rights. Right there, that's four more things than any GOP candidate will support. If Murphy wins the primary, he will definitely get my vote. However, my time, energy, and sweat equity will go for progressive candidates I believe in.

I'm not alone.

Lunar Eclipses? Thanks Obama!!* (*Seriously, they are BLAMING him!)

Somewhere, there might exist a leftwing looney toon who subscribes to bat**** conspiracy theories. The difference? None of these loons are in Congress, or the Senate. None of their websites have credentials to cover Congress, and certainly no potential Dem presidential candidate would ever allow them to interview him or her.

WorldNetDaily (WND) is a rightwing rag with less credibility than a supermarket tabloid. For all of their endless articles blaming Obama for everything and questioning his time travel abilities concerning his citizenship, they have jumped the shark by even their absurdly low standards.

WND recently published an article featuring conservative pastor Mark Blitz. Turns out the recent lunar eclipse was the fault of one President Obama. This is, unfortunately, not the first time they tied a lunar eclipse to Obama.

The first article coincided with the April 15, 2014 lunar eclipse (also referred to as a "blood moon"). WND argued that the blood moon was actually a divine warning against Obama's evil executive actions.

Now, almost one year later, another WND article coincided with the April 4, 2015 blood moon. This time, the article stated that it was actually Obama's negotiation over Iran’s nuclear program that was “totally tied to these Blood Moons”.

As you can see, they can't make up their mind why Obama is to blame, just know that he is.

The conservative pastor they featured in the article also argued that the blood moons are coinciding pretty closely with major Jewish holidays. True, actually. If he had done even the smallest amount of research, he would know that is because the Jewish calendar is based on the LUNAR calendar rather than the 12-month solar calendar. But NO: a natural and predictable phenomenon that has occurred since our planet's birth is due to President Obama. That makes more sense.

Seriously. Article posits that the blood moons are actually divine warnings to the president because he is trying to promote peace in the Middle East. Science!:

“The moons are like flashing red warning lights at a heavenly intersection saying to Israel as well as the nations they will be crossing heavenly red lines, and if they do, they will understand as Pharaoh did on Passover night 3,500 years ago that the Creator backs up what He says.”

And yet, the GOP Congressmen treat WND as a legitimate news outlet. They are allowed to attend and ask stupid questions in presidential press conferences. Rand Paul sits down with them like any other news outlet and treats their conspiracy theories with merit. There are no standards of journalistic integrity with these people. But as long as they have millions of idiots who believe this nonsense, they will continue to believe they don't need any.

Even FL GOP Blasts JEB's Deadenders Who Are Still Screwing Over FL Schools

To say Bush was a horrible governor would be an understatement. Because of him we have the Stand Your Ground law, which has put every minority in this state in a gun nut's crosshairs. He illegally interfered with Terri Schiavo's wish that she not be a living potato. He ran the most dysfunctional Department of Children and Families in the nation and dismantled any form growth management in this state. Florida has deteriorated rapidly from 17 years of complete GOP rule, with Jeb and Scott being the worst offenders.

The failure that is rarely talked about, however, is John Ellis Bush's disastrous education policies that stemmed from his obsession over testing.

Out of the 180-day academic year, Miami-Dade County schools will administer standardized tests on EVERY DAY BUT EIGHT! This includes 18 exams required exclusively by Florida, five by the district, two federal, and dozens of assessments covering placement to state guidelines.

None of these include the standard tests that teachers are supposed to give.

Students, parents, reading teachers, principals, business and professional organizations, testing experts, consultants, and concerned citizens are so outraged that even the GOP, which at first strongly supported Jeb's million test march, now admits it was wrong. It has gotten so bad that severely disabled children are forced to take the test, even a child who is blind and missing most of his brain!

For crying out loud, even kids without disabilities who are doing well in school are also failing these state assessments. An Orange County school board member who holds several advanced degrees recently took one and barely passed. As someone who works in the field of learning, I know that tests need to go through reliability, validity and validation. Clearly, none of this is taking place. The problem is obviously the test, not the kids.

All of this testing madness, which has spread like a cancer nationwide, came about because of JEB's ideological obsession along with typical Bush family ignorance. The outrage finally led to some sort of relief--not fixing the tests themselves but at least reducing the number of tests taken. The bill would scrap a law requiring school districts to come up with end-of-course tests in classes where the state doesn't administer such exams; cap at 5 percent the share of students' time that can be spent on testing; and reduce from 50 percent to a third the portion of a teacher's evaluation tied to student performance.

But the bill no longer includes language that would have allowed students who do well on the SAT, ACT or tests in high-level classes like Advanced Placement courses to skip the corresponding statewide standardized tests. The reason? Jeb Bush's ironically named Foundation for Florida's Future. These dead-enders oppose any and all changes to the tests. Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, withdrew that amendment after a blistering speech aimed at Jeb Bush's foundation. Others GOP members had plenty to say:

"Obviously, the testing has gotten out of control. ... I want to have a non-subjective measure, so we can know exactly how our kids are doing," Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland.

"I think we've lost our way and we need to find it again," said Sen. Don Gaetz of Niceville, another former Senate president who has backed education reform.

Gaetz, who chairs the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee, vowed to spend his final year in the Senate on a mission "to bring some order out of chaos."

Sen. Alan Hays, a conservative Republican from Umatilla, said lawmakers had the best intentions but went too far.

"It is sad that today, many of our teachers and even administrators are simply waiting to earn their retirement checks because our well-intentioned but misguided policies have taken the joy out of teaching," Hays said.

What can make this worse? The analysis also says that all four testing companies have donated to the JEB's Foundation for Excellence in Education. The foundation is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, better known as ALEC.

Two days ago, against all odds, the GOP House approved the bill.

Teachers are justifiably upset that they can't get more of a fix. But this is Florida, folks. If you want change, try showing up at the polls, no matter how hard they make it.

Unfortunately, JEB is understandably not happy with this bill since one of his "selling points" is that he was the "education governor", and he is whispering in Rick's ear.

Rick Scott, for his part, has not indicated whether he would sign it. He has ZERO incentive to do the right thing but every incentive to do the wrong thing. The only possible reason he would sign it is if he cared even remotely about the welfare of Floridian children.

Given the examples here, here, here, and here, you might not want to hold your breath.

Are You a Better Spender Than Rick Scott?

The tragic re-election of Rick Scott is more than 4 months in the past, but for reasons so far known best to him, Scott is still in campaign mode. One of his latest slogans, designed to promote his recent call for yet more tax cuts, is: "Floridians can spend their money better than the government can."

Really, Rick?

I don't think Rick Scott actually believes that slogan, not even for a moment. And I'll tell you why.

His latest proposed "tax cut" is to our telecommunications tax -- the tax that appears on our bills for cable television and the like. The total tax savings for each bill will amount to a whopping (hold on to your seat) forty-three dollars per year.

Hmm. Now I can get that "fast food for a family of four" meal I've been putting off for so long!

But seriously, folks. If Rick really DOES believe that we can spend the money better than he can, why stop there, with a measly forty-three dollars?

Florida charges something like 15 cents per gallon for a gasoline tax. If we can spend our money better than Rick can, why doesn't he give us that back, too?

We also have a 6% sales tax rate. If we can spend our money better than Rick can, how about he reduces that to a 0% tax rate?

Come to think of it, though it wasn't exactly a tax, Rick also took 3% of all pay from state workers, and others under the Florida Retirement System, to allegedly fund their pensions. If they know better how to spend their money than he does, what did he take it for? He ought to give it all back. (Wait...scratch that. Since their salaries come from state taxes, that means they won't have any salaries. Never mind!)

And surely Rick doesn't think that ONLY Floridians are that smart. I'm sure he thinks tourists are as smart as we are. So why doesn't he just go ahead and cancel out that hotel occupancy tax?

I mean, think about it. If Rick is right, then all he has to do is cancel each and every state tax we have, and immediately, all we highly responsible and decent citizens will line up in droves to voluntarily donate our hard-earned and better-spent money to fund things like roads, bridges, prisons, highway patrols, help for the poor and needy, salaries for hard-working servants of the state, and even the environment. It's a win-win situation. Then, we can be sure that Rick will never again spend our money on things like drug testing for welfare recipients, incompetent prison medical service providers, and defending himself in court because of things like drug testing for welfare recipients and the hiring of incompetent prison medical service providers.

Come to think of it...when he says we can spend our money better than he can, maybe he's got a point.

 

HELP! Longwood Bakery Getting Death Threats for Refusing to Make Anti-Gay Cake!

Recommended diary on DailyKos

Cut the Cake is a longstanding business in the Longwood community outside Orlando run by the ultra-polite Sharon Haller.

Joshua Feuerstein is a disgusting bigot (who should not be trying to rock a fauxhawk) and a former televangelist whose favorite part of the Bible is apparently where Jesus preaches against gay wedding cakes.

What follows is despicable:

Joshua made a hateful Youtube video. Essentially, he taped himself making a call to Haller's bakery so we can "see what discrimination REALLY is".

He asked if she would make a cake with a hateful message on it against equality in marriage. Haller told the Orlando Sentinel that she thought it was an April Fool's Day prank, said no and hung up.

Joshua's nasty followers decided that in some-FREAKING-way this meant THEY were being "discriminated" against. Joshua not only posted their information but demanded his followers do what Jesus would apparently do: harass the living daylights out of the poor baker. They did. In fact, they left 100s of threatening messages because somehow THEY were "under attack".

Let this sink in for a minute. A bakery that DID NOT put a bigoted message on a cake is accused of discrimination against the bigots. It's mad-hatter logic. It's like the Klan accusing blacks of discrimination for not letting them burn a cross in your yard.

Joshua's call was not only horrible, but illegal as well. In Florida, you cannot record a phone conversation without consent from the other party. It is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The FBI is now also involved because she has received death threats.

Ironically, I somehow doubt that the people calling up and threatening this poor woman have led good "christian" lives: no doubt many are divorced, had premarital sex, or committed adultery. All of which Jesus condemned. DO you know what He never said one word about in the Bible? Homosexuality. That right folks, eat that up along with your bigot cake: Jesus never said ONE word about it.

If it is the ultimate sin, do you not think he would have bothered to mention it at least once? However, He was so bothered by excess wealth and greed that he preached against that in every single book of the New Testament--something most of you bigots have no problem with. But it's the gays who deserve your wrath, along with bakers who would simply prefer not to participate in spreading your hate.

I am asking the community to please counter-act the hurtful messages Sharon's bakery has received on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cutthecake

She is also fighting for survival since the hatemongers have made it their mission to destroy her business. Dana Loesch generated half a million for a hateful pizza parlor in Indiana, so we can at least send some a few bucks to someone who is being physically threatened for not wanting to participate in hate: http://www.gofundme.com/cutthecake

On Welfare in Kansas? Don't Take a Cruise with the Money!

As I said a while back (and as our host also confirmed) when you're feeling down about the state of Florida, you can always be glad you're not in Kansas. The latest example of why is a bill that prevents recipients of welfare from getting more than $25 a day at a time, and also forbids them from spending their welfare money on cruises.

I suppose my next question is....which cruise ships dock anywhere in Kansas?