Friday Shakedown

The GOP is continuing it's ridiculous attacks on the President over the "non-conspiracy" Benghazi.  Bob Cesca posted a list of 13 more "Benghazis" that occurred during the Bush administration that Fox News did not seem to care about.  Go check it out.  It's pretty good.

Missouri has joined the league of states toying with nullification.  The bill that was just sent to Governor Jay Nixon (D) would render all federal gun laws null and void in Missouri.  Should the Governor sign the bill, which I think is unlikely, Missouri would become the second state to actually pass such a law.  Kansas was the first and Attorney General Eric Holder has already sent them a letter threatening to take Kansas to court over the issue.  

The bill would also relax other gun laws in the state by lowering the age to obtain a concealed carry license from 21 to 19.  It would also allow firearms to be carried by certain school personnel.

Another day, another child getting shot by another child.  In Camden, New Jersey, an 11-year-old boy shot a 12-year-old in the face.  The incident is being called an accident.  The child is being treated at an area hospital and is expected to survive.  There was supposedly an 19-year-old relative nearby when the accident happened but it is currently unclear how the children obtained the gun.

When does it stop?

Friday Shakedown

Dan Bidondi, an Infowars "reporter," went to Massachusetts and didn't plan on running into opposition like this.  An unnamed resident engaged him on Infowars' crazy conspiracy theories.

(NSFW)

I wish more people would confront wackos like this in this way.  It's just like the Westboro Baptist Church.  They do not respond to reason, reason, or facts, and they contribute nothing to the debate.  Having an argument with them is not a good use of your time.  You will walk away from the encounter feeling more frustrated than you were at the start and they will walk away thinking they've won.  The only thing they respond to is ridicule.  

North Carolina is trying to make it harder for students to vote.  Shocking, I know.  The bill, which was sponsored by six Republican Senators, would force the parents of out-of-state students to pay higher taxes if they claim their child as a dependent and the student is registered to vote in their college district.  If you are a student, you should be able to vote for the district that directly represents you where you live.  When I was a student at Ohio State, I petitioned the congresswoman for Ohio District 15, which was where the school sat.  For the time I was attending and living there, I considered her my voice in Congress.  I should have been able to vote in that district if there had been an election while I was there.  Speaking of Ohio... They're trying to do a similar thing there.  This is just another example Republicans trying to suppress the vote and change the rules of the game.  Instead of having a message that appeals to a majority of the country, or people in their districts, they try to keep opponents from voting.  That isn't how democracy is supposed to work.

In other news, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, famous for being one of the most hated members of the Senate on both the Left and Right, floated the notion of a presidential run.  This move was promptly met with laughter all around.

The NRA has a new president and he's possibly more to the right than the last one.  At a speech in New York, he referred to the Civil War as the "War of Northern Aggression."  There is so much wrong with that, I don't even know where to start.  The historian in my head is speechless at the moment.  

Maybe more along the lines of the Civil War tomorrow...

Doof Quote Of The Day

NH State Rep. Stella Tremblay (R)

TREMBLAY: And the more I looked at this, in my heart, something told me there’s something wrong here. You just have to look at that backpack and you can see. If there’s an explosion, the backpack is blown to smithereens. There’s nothing left. What was it doing just laying there? Then, my first gut reaction seeing the horror of that person that had their legs blown off… you know, with the bone sticking out? And he was not in shock. I looked and I thought there’s something… I don’t know what’s wrong, but it seems surreal to me. I talked to my sister, who’s not into politics at all, and she said, “Yea, I saw the same thing.” He was not in shock. He was not in pain. If I had had those type of injuries, I’d be screaming in agony.

Via ThinkProgress:

Citing Alex Jones and his conspiracy theory site Infowars, Tremblay notes that while she once believed 9/11 was a real attack by terrorists, 9/11 “truthers” have opened her eyes. This attack too, she argues, was a “Black Ops” attack staged — apparently unconvincingly — by the federal government.

Wonderful.  I wish everyone could see the harm that Infowars and crazies like Alex Jones cause.  They have no evidence for their crazy theories, only questions and they press on with the conspiracy theory no matter what.  You can never prove them wrong in their eyes because they'll just ask more questions or dismiss actual evidence.  Now, these crazy theories are being floated by Republican politicians.  Like this one where Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) floated a theory about the U.S. shipping guns to Turkey.  Secretary Clinton's response is priceless.

This is not the only example, not by a long shot. Republican Reps. Jim Jordan (OH) and Jason Chaffetz (UT) held a joint hearing "to examine the procurement of ammunition by the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General." They, and others, believe the U.S. government is buying up ammunition to either keep regular Americans from being able to buy it, or they are preparing for war against their own people.  This is the silliness that goes on on the Right these days.

The conspiracy theorists are not serious people but unfortunately we have to take them seriously because they influence those that vote in Congress.  

Gohmert Again, And Schoolhouse Rock!

I think some members of Congress need a little refresher course on U.S. Government.

Speaking of Congressmen that need a refresher on government and history, our favorite Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert is still blaming the wrong people for the Boston bombing.  Last week he said this:

“He [Obama] has advisers around him that do not have the same goal as he does. He has people around him giving advice who support the Muslim Brotherhood and who steer him in wrong directions”

Well, he must have thought that wasn't crazy enough because today he said this:

"Think about it, when your attorney general spent more of his legal career helping terrorists than defending the country, then you know we all have certain biases and lean certain ways."

Louie Gohmert is asserting that Attorney General Eric Holder has a bias in favor of terrorists and against defending the country.  I would like to know where he is getting his information, or what he considers "bias in favor of terrorists."  I know it is hard to cite your own rectum, but give it a go, Louie.  

Maybe he thinks reading the bombing suspect his Miranda rights and not torturing him is a bias in favor of the terrorists.  Treating the suspect like a human being and an American citizen, of which he is both, is just too much for those on the far right.  The Right (capital "r") have been in a tizzy since authorities captured the suspect and did not lose their minds interrogating him.  The government officials are handling it like they should be and are conducting a proper investigation.

Answers will come.  Allow the authorities to do their jobs.

"Serve And Protect The Constitution"

The bombing in Boston has caused emotions to run high for everyone.  People have been glued to their seats waiting for the latest news on the fugitive second suspect.  So much so that CNN didn't even bother getting the truth before reporting on it.  But that isn't what I want to talk about here.

Now, the suspect has been caught alive. But even before he was captured, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) suggested that the suspect be held as an enemy combatant. He released a series of tweets that provided a good view on his mindset.

If captured, I hope Administration will at least consider holding the Boston suspect as enemy combatant for intelligence gathering purposes. 

3:33 PM - 19 Apr 2013 

If the #Boston suspect has ties to overseas terror organizations he could be treasure trove of information.

3:37 PM - 19 Apr 2013 

The last thing we may want to do is read Boston suspect Miranda Rights telling him to "remain silent."

3:40 PM - 19 Apr 2013 

The Obama Administration needs to be contemplating these issues and should not rush into a bad decision.

3:43 PM - 19 Apr 2013

Rushing into a bad decision would certainly be bad. Like not reading Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the bomber, his Miranda Rights. That was a bad decision. Or not trying him in a civilian court, preferably in Boston. That would also be a bad decision.

Like it or not, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is an American citizen and deserves all the protections a citizen gets under the Constitution. We have shown that we can handle prosecuting terrorists at home. We can do it again.

Republicans love to quote the Founding Fathers so here are a few yo should really read, Senator.

"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself." -- Thomas Paine 1795

"The Habeas Corpus secures every man here, alien or citizen, against everything which is not law, whatever shape it may assume." --Thomas Jefferson to A. H. Rowan, 1798. ME 10:61

"Why suspend the habeas corpus in insurrections and rebellions? The parties who may be arrested may be charged instantly with a well defined crime; of course, the judge will remand them. If the public safety requires that the government should have a man imprisoned on less probable testimony in those than in other emergencies, let him be taken and tried, retaken and retried, while the necessity continues, only giving him redress against the government for damages. Examine the history of England. See how few of the cases of the suspension of the habeas corpus law have been worthy of that suspension. They have been either real treasons, wherein the parties might as well have been charged at once, or sham plots, where it was shameful they should ever have been suspected. Yet for the few cases wherein the suspension of the habeas corpus has done real good, that operation is now become habitual and the minds of the nation almost prepared to live under its constant suspension." --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1788. ME 7:97

Gohmert Joins King

Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX) joined Rep. Steve King (R_IA) in his blaming the Boston bombing on immigrants or people "that look Hispanic."  He and other conservatives are claiming that the Boston bombing is a reason why immigration reform needs to be delayed.  

“We have seen this in Israel,” Gohmert said of the Boston attacks and recalled visiting areas that had been struck by suicide bombers. “Finally the Israeli people said this is enough. They built a fence and the rest is a wall to prevent snipers from telling their kids. They finally stopped the domestic violence from people that wanted to destroy them. I am concerned we need to do that as well.”

“We know Al Qaeda has camps on the Mexican border,” he said. “We have people that are trained to act Hispanic when they are radical Islamists.”

How do you know this?  Where is the evidence?  It would seem like you are just saying this to blow that racist dog-whistle for your constituents.  

I would put money on it being done by a white, right-wing extremist.  

Thank you, Texas, for sending this idiot to Congress.

Boston Massacre Part Deux

Obviously news has spread very quickly this afternoon abut the attack in Boston.  It is certainly a terrorist attack, but the question is what sort of terrorists: Foreign or Domestic?  Only time will tell.  Hopefully we'll have a few answers by the end of the week.  

*Note: The runner knocked down by the blast in the picture above is reportedly unhurt.