Rep. Phil Gingrey’s attempts to explain Todd Akin’s rape remarks are leaving many Republicans beyond frustrated that a few in their party can’t help but insert rape into the already contentious abortion debate.
“This is actually pretty simple. If you’re about to talk about rape as anything other than a brutal and horrible crime, stop,” said Republican strategist Kevin Madden, who was a senior adviser in Mitt Romney’s campaign.
On Thursday, the Georgia Republican didn’t heed that advice, telling a local Chamber of Commerce breakfast that Akin was “partially right” when he said last year that a woman can stop herself from getting pregnant.
Yeager struts his sanity…NOT!!!!
The CEO of a company that teaches people how to use guns has posted a ranting video online in which he claims he will ‘start killing people’ if President Obama uses his executive powers to introduce tighter gun controls.
James Yeager runs Tactical Response, a Tennessee company that trains people in weapon and tactical skills. In a video posted on YouTube and Facebook, Yeager describes President Obama as a ‘dictator’ and claims that tighter gun control measures will result in ‘civil war.’
The video is Yeager’s angry response to Vice President Joe Biden’s comment on Wednesday that President Obama might use executive action if Congress takes no action on gun violence in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre.
If this is a person trying to convince me that he is sane and should be carrying any type of weapon, he sure is going about it the wrong way. I wouldn’t trust this A-hole with a butter knife.
See this guy in all his glory by clicking the blue text.
I don’t usually use Brit media but the video was clearer than on my usual sites.
Sen. Dick Saslaw opposes McDonnell’s road funding proposal
McDonnell isn’t much of a businessman. Saslaw is right. Why should Virginians absorb the entire cost when clearly 1/3 cars on our highways are out of state. McDonnell shoots himself in the foot, again, with this proposal. The metrics aren’t on his side.
Joe rips into Mika for ‘chauvinistic’ comment
Mr. Kotter, Mr. Kotter! Please, let me answer! [Best Horshak imitation]
Joe–yes. You are being a chauvanist. You interrupt, you talk over, and you dismiss. That is pretty much the definition of ‘chauvanist’ in modern times. Furthermore, you are really getting to be pretty much just your basic A-hole. Let’s not fancy it up.
Many responses to the gun situation?
Groups in Utah are training teachers to carry guns, Tennessee is hiring armed “security specialists” for $11.50 an hour and the National Rifle Association is working on a plan to arm school volunteers even as teachers gather in protest outside the group’s headquarters.
Are security specialists the answer? Are armed teachers the answer? I don’t think that “good” vs “bad” is the answer. I think that well-trained and present vs. disturbed might be more to the point. What we don’t need out there is the amatuer hour if a school violence issue arises. Too many people’s lives are at stake.
NRA: Our meeting with Joe Biden’s task force went exactly as well as you’d expect
NRA: Our meeting with Joe Biden’s task force went exactly as well as you’d expect
The National Rifle Association of America is made up of over 4 million moms and dads, daughters and sons, who are involved in the national conversation about how to prevent a tragedy like Newtown from ever happening again. We attended today’s White House meeting to discuss how to keep our children safe and were prepared to have a meaningful conversation about school safety, mental health issues, the marketing of violence to our kids and the collapse of federal prosecutions of violent criminals.
We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment. While claiming that no policy proposals would be “prejudged,” this Task Force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners – honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans. It is unfortunate that this Administration continues to insist on pushing failed solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems. We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen. Instead, we will now take our commitment and meaningful contributions to members of congress of both parties who are interested in having an honest conversation about what works – and what does not.
NRA, how do we know what doesn’t work? I have yet to hear honest conversation.
Some ideas out of the meetings VP Biden has held:
- Clarifying gun ownership responsibilities.
- Restrict high-capacity clips and magazines.
- Impose universal background checks, including those at gun shows, for every transaction.
WH denies petition to deport Piers Morgan
The President responds to the public petition to deport British citizen Piers Morgan for his outspokenness on gun control. The petition was sponsored by conservative talk radio host Alex Jones in favor of the 2nd Amendment.
From Jay Carney
Thank you for participating in We the People to speak out on an issue that matters to you.
Let’s not let arguments over the Constitution’s Second Amendment violate the spirit of its First. President Obama believes that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. However, the Constitution not only guarantees an individual right to bear arms, but also enshrines the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press — fundamental principles that are essential to our democracy. Americans may disagree on matters of public policy and express those disagreements vigorously, but no one should be punished by the government simply because he or she expressed a view on the Second Amendment — or any other matter of public concern.
Ewwwwwwwwwwwww! Coming to a neighbor near you soon
Oh gross me out! 200 vultures have taken up residence in a Leesburg neighborhood. Nothing could be uglier or nastier than a vulture. I am assuming these are what we call “buzzrds.”
Washingtonpost.com: (Tom Jackman)
Monday was Day One of the effort by Leesburg, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to remove the committee of vultures who have made the Mayfair neighborhood near Edwards Ferry Road their winter home. As always on this job, it was fun and educational — a group of vultures is known as a committee, you know — and from the outset, it seemed to work. Except that the promised, much anticipated “pyrotechnics and lasers” weren’t really needed much.
To recap, the 200 or so vultures need to go because their excrement is extremely acidic and they can destroy both trees and important stuff on houses and cars. They are a protected species, so you can’t shoot them.
What amazes me is that buzzards are a protected species. Why? How stupid is that? Who do we write to about this? The vulture is no more endangered than kittens.
The first trick to remove the vultures was to hang an effigy–not a toy vulture but a real dead vulture, upside down from a rope in “their” tree. Apparently vultures do not like effigies, considering their personal eating habits.
Be sure to read the rest of Tom Jackman’ article to see the outcome. Meanwhile, why are we protecting vultures? They are nasty and ugly. They serve on purpose. They clean up road kill. They are too lazy to kill their own food. Ewwwwwwww!
Keep your fingers crossed that the “committee” doesn’t decide to reside in the fun place to live, work and play.
Open Thread………………………………………………Wednesday, January 9
The Virginia General Assembly convenes today. This year is a short session so the lawmakers will meet for 46 days. That seems like enough time for them to get us in to trouble.
I am holding my breath to see what they have in store for us this year.
I wish they would address texting while driving. That looks like a good place to start. What do you all thinK should be addressed this year in the General Assembly. Maybe they should listen to OUR ideas.
McDonnell proposes radical transportation plan, increase in sales tax
RICHMOND — Virginia’s gasoline tax would be eliminated and its retail sales tax would increase from 5 percent to 5.8 percent under a transportation funding plan Gov. Bob McDonnell unveiled Tuesday.
The governor’s proposal also would increase vehicle registration fees, impose a $100 annual fee on alternative fuel vehicles and shift revenue from the state’s general fund to provide more dollars for roads, rail and transit. McDonnell said the complete funding package could generate more than $3.1 billion in additional transportation funding over the next five years.
Administration officials said part of the revenue from a proposed $15 increase in vehicle registration fees would pay for the extension of passenger rail service to Roanoke, though it’s unclear how soon that would be available.
This doesn’t make the least bit of sense. Let’s make those who use the roads pay for the roads and keep the sales tax out of it.
Sudden Loss of Moonhowlings Member
Moonhowler recieved very sad news yesterday. One of our regular posters, “Bear”, passed away from a sudden health complication. She had a wonderful relationship via internet with Mr. Bear outside of the blog, sharing music weekly and general communications of life and family.
We send our prayers out to his family and we acknowlege the value of his comments and willingess to share his thoughts on the blog.
RIP Bear.
Giffords and Kelly launch initiative against gun violence
Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly
Op-ed in Tuesday’s USA Today:
Our new campaign will launch a national dialogue and raise funds to counter influence of the gun lobby.
In response to a horrific series of shootings that has sown terror in our communities, victimized tens of thousands of Americans, and left one of its own bleeding and near death in a Tucson parking lot, Congress has done something quite extraordinary — nothing at all.
I was shot in the head while meeting with constituents two years ago today. Since then, my extensive rehabilitation has brought excitement and gratitude to our family. But time and time again, our joy has been diminished by new, all too familiar images of death on television: the breaking news alert, stunned witnesses blinking away tears over unspeakable carnage, another community in mourning. America has seen an astounding 11 mass shootings since a madman used a semiautomatic pistol with an extended ammunition clip to shoot me and kill six others. Gun violence kills more than 30,000 Americans annually.
This country is known for using its determination and ingenuity to solve problems, big and small. Wise policy has conquered disease, protected us from dangerous products and substances, and made transportation safer. But when it comes to protecting our communities from gun violence, we’re not even trying — and for the worst of reasons.
Jon Stewart: A serious discussion on gun violence
Jon Stewart wasn’t really Mr. Funny Man last night. He had a serious message that brought some nervous laughter.
Both segments were about the issue of sensible gun use and congress’s failure to act. It is well worth viewing, regardless of your point of view.
Rep. DebraLee Hovey: Shallow end of the manners gene pool
countrytimes.com
State Rep. DebraLee Hovey, R-Newtown, who last week on her Facebook page called on shooting victim Gabrielle Giffords to “stay out of my towns,” issued an apology Monday.
“The remarks I made regarding Congresswoman Gifford’s visit were insensitive and if I offended anyone I truly apologize,” Hovey said in a statement issued by her office, referring to Giffords’ visit Friday to Newtown.
“My comments were meant to be protective of the privacy of the families and our community as we work to move on, and were in no way intended as an insult to Congresswoman Giffords personally. Our community has struggled greatly through this tragedy, and we are all very sensitive to the potential for this event to be exploited for political purposes. This is what I wish to avoid,” Hovey said in her statement.
Former Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, went to Newtown, Connecticut met privately with several government officials before meeting with some of the families of the 20 children and six teachers killed in a massacre by lone gunman, Adam Lanza, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School last month. Giffords and Kelly have been increasingly involved in lobbying for stricter gun laws and improved access to mental health treatment
Archie had the answer 40 years ago….
Archie Bunker had the answer 40 years ago. He doesn’t sound much different that Wayne Lapierre did the other day other than LaPierre used better grammar.
I find these discussions rather incredible. I wish one “enthusiast” would explain to me how I am supposed to know that THEY are sane and someone like Cho is not sane. The ranting and raving just isn’t passing the old sanity test in my eyes. The weapons capable of multiple kills in a matter of seconds have to be removed from our every day life.
Additionally, we can’t deport everyone who says something we don’t like. Deportation isn’t the answer to every problem.
Text of video:
