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Harry Truman said this in 1948.
In 1948.
Did he build a time machine, come forward to our day, and go back to warn the country about them?
It's so refreshing [/sarcasm] to see they haven't changed in 65 years.
Harry Truman said this in 1948.
In 1948.
Did he build a time machine, come forward to our day, and go back to warn the country about them?
It's so refreshing [/sarcasm] to see they haven't changed in 65 years.
Dear Grumpy Old Party (seriously, you should drop the elephant and use Grumpy Cat as your new logo):
If you want to appeal to women voters:
Stop passing laws that restrict a woman's right to an abortion.
Make your candidates shut up about rape.
If you want to appeal to minority voters:
Stop passing draconian voter ID laws.
Get your act together and pass comprehensive immigration reform.
That's not so hard, is it? It ain't rocket science, people!
This is the text of the unconstitutional law Virginia Attorney General Ken Kuccinelli wants to have reinstated.
§ 18.2-361. Crimes against nature; penalty.
A. If any person carnally knows in any manner any brute animal, or carnally knows any male or female person by the anus or by or with the mouth, or voluntarily submits to such carnal knowledge, he or she shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony, except as provided in subsection B.
B. Any person who performs or causes to be performed cunnilingus, fellatio, anilingus or anal intercourse upon or by his daughter or granddaughter, son or grandson, brother or sister, or father or mother is guilty of a Class 5 felony. However, if a parent or grandparent commits any such act with his child or grandchild and such child or grandchild is at least 13 but less than 18 years of age at the time of the offense, such parent or grandparent is guilty of a Class 3 felony.
C. For the purposes of this section, parent includes step-parent, grandparent includes step-grandparent, child includes step-child and grandchild includes step-grandchild.
You'll notice Section A says "any person." It doesn't say "any unmarried person," or "any non-heterosexual person." So, according to the language of this terrible law, a wife giving her husband a blow job or a husband going down on his wife, activities they have every right to do as consenting adults, could be arrested for private, personal, nobody-else's-business sexual contact.
Also, needless to say, this law directly flouts the Supreme Court's ruling in Lawrence vs. Texas.
There's something else that's peculiar about this, and I haven't seen anyone mention it. Section B has the standard boilerplate against incest and child molestation. However, if the victim is 13-17, the penalty is a Class 3 felony. According to this, Virginia felonies are ranked between 1 and 6, with penalties in descending order. Anyone else, including adults, is guilty of a Class 5.
Class 3 Felonies can have a punishable prison term of no less than five years but nor more than twenty years in a state facility. A fine of no more than one hundred thousand dollars is also possible.
Class 4 Felonies can have a prison term of no less than two years and no more than ten years in a state facility with a possible fine of no more than one hundred thousand dollars.
Class 5 Felonies can carry a prison sentence of no less than one year and no more than ten years. Also under the discretion of the court or the jury, confinement in a county jail for no more than twelve months is also possible with a fine of no more than twenty-five hundred dollars. An individual can be sentenced to one or both of these punishments.
So a perpetrator of molestation on a teenage victim could theoretically get a greater penalty than someone raping or molesting a small child.
What the hell is up with that? Is this just because there's greater possibility of pregnancy if the victim is a teenager? (Although the four acts banned here wouldn't actually result in a pregnancy.) Does Cuccinelli, or whoever wrote this boneheaded law, actually think a 13-year-old victim would suffer greater trauma than a 5-year-old one? That there are classes, and levels, of molestation victims, and one is more worthy of prosecution than another?
This law is just all-around stupid. It was also pushed because of Ken Cuccinelli's personal views, (and I would bet serious money those views are based on his religious beliefs) which he has absolutely no business foisting on the rest of us.
He declined to commit to a nondiscrimination policy against gays and lesbians observed by former Attorney General Bob McDonnell: “ My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong. They’re intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that. ... They don’t comport with natural law. I happen to think that it represents (to put it politely; I need my thesaurus to be polite) behavior that is not healthy to an individual and in aggregate is not healthy to society.”
I don't call many people nutjobs, but Ken Cuccinelli absolutely merits that designation. I feel sorry for Virginia residents. What an embarrassment.
Here: Amazon reviews of Wendy Davis' pink running shoes.
My favorite of the bunch:
My favorite of the bunch:
An essential tool for running down the clock in a state 773 miles wide and 790 miles long! These shoes are perfect for those days when you must spend 13+ hours standing, not lean on your desk or take any breaks - even for meals or to use the bathroom. The snazzy hot pink color brings out your inner badassness and helps you to "humbly give voice to thousands of Texans" and stop a "raw abuse of power" in its tracks. Raise a feminist army and lead the charge when your competitors cheat and change the rules on you. These Mizuno's are built to protect your feet from mudslinging and add sunshine to the political process. Highly recommended for fierce women and anyone who's not a Greedy Old Prick (GOP).
She'll have to bring them out again next week, seeing as Governor Rick Perry has called another special session.
There's been a lot of outrage, and deservedly so, about Representative Louie Gohmert telling a woman who had a medically necessary late-term abortion she should have given birth anyway. But nothing I've read has addressed this little snippet of his comment. (Maybe I look for these things because I read a lot of science fiction dystopias.)
Ms. Zink, having my great sympathy and empathy both. I still come back wondering, shouldn’t we wait… and see if the child can survive before we decide to rip him apart? So, these are ethical issues, they’re moral issues, they’re difficult issues, and the parents should certainly be consulted. But it just seems like, it’s a more educated decision if the child is in front of you to make those decisions.
The parents should certainly be consulted?
This lends a very creepy undertone to the whole thing. If the parents are not making the decision, then who the hell is? Who is this 'we' you speak of, kemosabe?
That's a rhetorical question, of course. Obviously, in Mr. Gohmert's mind, the omniscent, all-knowing State is the only entity capable of making such decisions, and we should bow to its godlike wisdom.
A party of small, limited government, my ass.
Ms. Zink, having my great sympathy and empathy both. I still come back wondering, shouldn’t we wait… and see if the child can survive before we decide to rip him apart? So, these are ethical issues, they’re moral issues, they’re difficult issues, and the parents should certainly be consulted. But it just seems like, it’s a more educated decision if the child is in front of you to make those decisions.
The parents should certainly be consulted?
This lends a very creepy undertone to the whole thing. If the parents are not making the decision, then who the hell is? Who is this 'we' you speak of, kemosabe?
That's a rhetorical question, of course. Obviously, in Mr. Gohmert's mind, the omniscent, all-knowing State is the only entity capable of making such decisions, and we should bow to its godlike wisdom.
A party of small, limited government, my ass.
Let's set up a sting, shall we?
Let's put together our hidden cameras and microphones, and walk into this jackass's store.
Southwest Shooting Authority in Pinetop, Ariz. took out an advertisement last week in the local newspaper, the White Mountain Independent, that spelled out the store's new policy in explicit terms.
"If you voted for Barack Obama your business is not welcome at Southwest Shooting Authority," the ad reads. "You have proven that you are not responsible enough to own a firearm."
Let's recruit a young man and woman, the former wearing a cowboy hat and shitkicker boots, with a telltale Skoals circle in his rear jeans pocket, the latter a wide-eyed, lipsticked, none-too-bright-looking blonde. Two walking cliches, in other words. Driving a battered, rusty 70's Ford pickup truck, of course, with a rifle rack in the back window, festooned with nasty Republican bumper stickers like these:
Let's put together our hidden cameras and microphones, and walk into this jackass's store.
Southwest Shooting Authority in Pinetop, Ariz. took out an advertisement last week in the local newspaper, the White Mountain Independent, that spelled out the store's new policy in explicit terms.
"If you voted for Barack Obama your business is not welcome at Southwest Shooting Authority," the ad reads. "You have proven that you are not responsible enough to own a firearm."
Let's recruit a young man and woman, the former wearing a cowboy hat and shitkicker boots, with a telltale Skoals circle in his rear jeans pocket, the latter a wide-eyed, lipsticked, none-too-bright-looking blonde. Two walking cliches, in other words. Driving a battered, rusty 70's Ford pickup truck, of course, with a rifle rack in the back window, festooned with nasty Republican bumper stickers like these:
Into the gunstore we go. The shitkicker cowboy buys whatever gun he wants, after name-dropping Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and Sarah Palin a few times, perhaps adding a couple of re-nig jokes along the way. After the purchase is completed, the two head for the door, and right as they leave the blonde turns and says, in a voice as sweet and sharp as cyanide:
"By the way, we voted for President Obama."
I would pay good money for that to happen.
