Flat earther Rep. Broun serves on House Science Committee

MoonHowler

From USNEWS.com this time last year, Rep. Paul Broun declared:

” … that evolution and the Big Bang Theory were “lies straight from the pit of hell,” but Broun doesn’t believe that will negatively affect his chances of retaining a seat on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee in the next session of Congress.

“Congressman Broun intends to return to the Science Committee providing his waiver to serve on three committees is extended,” spokeswoman Meredith Griffanti told U.S. News on Monday. “We expect to know by the end of the week.”

In a rousing Sept. 27 [2012] speech at Liberty Baptist Church in Hartwell, Ga., Broun dismissed several widely held scientific beliefs.

Read More

3 nanny states ban Thanksgiving Day shopping

MoonHowler

Huffingtonpost.com:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Shoppers won’t be lining up for Thanksgiving Day deals at stores in Rhode Island. They can’t.

While in other parts of the country retailers will offer holiday deals starting Thursday, most big stores in Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts are barred by law from opening on the holiday. It’s the legacy of so-called “blue laws,” which prohibit large supermarkets, big box stores and department stores from opening on Thanksgiving.

Some business groups complain it’s an unnecessary barrier during an era of 24-hour online shopping, and there have been some recent failed legislative attempts to change things. But many shoppers, workers and even retailers say they’re satisfied with the status quo: a one-day reprieve from work and holiday shopping.

So the Blue Laws are alive and well in New England.  I hate Thanksgiving Day shopping.  I think it is horribly unfair to workers who might like to be home with their families.  However, the ban is totally nanny state.  Perhaps a less offensive way to  regulate retail business being conducted on federal holidays is to have state laws requiring businesses to pay double time or triple time wages.  That way, the workers aren’t being totally screwed.  How many people would volunteer to work on those days for that kind of money?  Probably a great many.

Read More

Happy Thanksgiving to all

MoonHowler

Now wasn’t that silly?  You should see some of the other ones.

What time is everyone eating the big bird?  Will you travel or stay home?  Who is cooking and who is being cooked for?

The Howlers are going out to eat.  Moon does not cook any more.  More importantly, Moon got tired of cleaning up.

The down side of eating out is no leftovers.  I am fixing that.  I will cook leftovers on Friday.  Perhaps reheat is a better choice of words.

Tell us your plans.  Are you having anything special?  What’s on your menu?

 

He isn’t against birth control–he just doesn’t want to pay for others to have sex

MoonHowler

OBAMACARE-570

UPDATE — 12:26 p.m.: Branco gave the following statement on the cartoon to HuffPost:

I’m not against birth control or nor do I feel that it is any of my business what people do sexually. However, I do feel that contraceptives are inexpensive and accessible enough that I shouldn’t have to pay for them through my taxes. I also feel that my government shouldn’t be promoting promiscuous sex as though condoms are the answer to all STDs and promiscuous behavior.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

More idiot statements.  STD’s?  Promiscuous sex?  Government promotion of condoms?  What rock does this dude live under?  The use of contraceptives and condoms saves lives.  I guess that is immaterial.  To suggest that contraception is inexpensive is simply ludicrous and ignorant.  Unless people live close to clinics with free samples, oral contraception is pretty darn expensive, in particular if one is counting one’s pennies to get by each month.

Read More

SCOTUS to hear contraception coverage cases

MoonHowler

 

New York Times email:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a pair of cases on whether corporations may refuse to provide insurance coverage for contraception to their workers based on the religious beliefs of the corporations’ owners.

The cases present a new challenge to President Obama’s health care law. The Supreme Court in 2012 upheld another part of the law, one that requires most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty.

The Obama administration has exempted many religious groups from the law’s requirements for contraception coverage. But it said for-profit corporations could not rely on religious objections to opt out of compliance with the law. The lower courts are divided over whether such corporations may object to generally applicable laws on religious liberty grounds.

These cases are totally bogus.  No one is being required to use contraception.

Read More

Candland and Stewart: two peas in a pod

MoonHowler

Potomaclocal.com:

Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland held a town hall Thursday night at Alvey Elementary School in Haymarket to speak to area residents about what he said is the need to “act right away” to provide more funds to the county school board to cut class sizes, which are now at their maximum capacity, he said. The number of students in classrooms is larger than those of schools in neighboring Loudoun and Fairfax counties, according to a Washington Area Board of Education report.

Candland advocates raising the amount of money the School Board automatically gets from the county in an annual budget transfer, which is currently 57.23% of the county budget, to allow the Board to hire additional teachers and to pay them salaries comparable to what educators earn in surrounding counties.

Read More

Mark Herring certified as Attorney General

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

RICHMOND — The state Board of Elections on Monday certified Democrat Mark Herring as the winner of the Nov. 5 election for Virginia attorney general, even as the board chairman raised questions about the “integrity” of the vote tallies.

A recount seems likely in the closest-ever statewide election in Virginia history, although the losing candidate did not immediately call for one.

Herring, a state senator from Loudoun County, beat state Sen. Mark Obenshain (R), by 165 votes out of more than 2 million cast.

Herring had 1,103,777 votes to Obenshain’s 1,103,612, according to the certified tally.

Herring and Obenshain were running to succeed Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R), who ran unsuccessfully for governor against Democrat Terry McAuliffe. Should Herring’s victory stand, it would give Democrats a sweep of all three statewide offices.

Senator Obenshain has 10 days to ask for a recount.   In this close race, there is probably no room for crowing from either side.  The results send a strong message that every vote counts.

It even seems a bit premature to congratulate the new Attorney General- to-be.

 

The morality of end of life decisions

MoonHowler

Pewforum.org:
end-of-life-overview-3

 

 …[A]  growing share of Americans also believe individuals have a moral right to end their own lives. About six-in-ten adults (62%) say that a person suffering a great deal of pain with no hope of improvement has a moral right to commit suicide, up from 55% in 1990. A 56% majority also says this about those who have an incurable disease, up from 49% in 1990. While far fewer (38%) believe there is a moral right to suicide when someone is “ready to die because living has become a burden,” the share saying this is up 11 percentage points, from 27% in 1990. About a third of adults (32%) say a person has a moral right to suicide when he or she “is an extremely heavy burden on his or her family,” roughly the same share as in 1990 (29%).

Read More

Jackie Kennedy: a real lady even in her grief

MoonHowler

Even in her pain, Jackie took the time to send a handwritten note to the widow of Officer Tippit who was killed just 45 minutes after President Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald.

Dear Mrs Tippit,

What can I say to you – My husband’s death is  responsible for you losing your husband. Wasn’t one life enough to take on that  day?

I lit a flame for Jack at Arlington  [Cemetery] that will burn forever. I consider that it burns for your husband too  and so will everyone who ever sees it.

With my inexpressible sympathy, Jacqueline  Kennedy

Jackie was only 31 years old when she became the First Lady.  She remained a classy lady throughout her life.  This letter to Mrs. Tippit exemplifies what a real lady Mrs. Kennedy really was.

The letter is now the property of the Kennedys.

The Tippits had a good day together.  Officer Tippit had been able to pop home for lunch.  His wife made him fried potatoes and a tuna sandwich.  He returned to work and was killed by Oswald.  His funeral was the same day as that of President Kennedy.

tippit

 

Senate triggers “Nuclear Option”

MoonHowler


———————————————————————————————————————-

Washingtonpost.com:
The partisan battles that have paralyzed Washington in recent years took a historic turn Thursday, as Senate Democrats eliminated filibusters for most presidential nominations, severely curtailing the political leverage of the Republican minority in the Senate and assuring an escalation of partisan warfare.

Saying that “enough is enough,” President Obama welcomed the end of what he called the abuse of the Senate’s advise and consent function, which he said had turned into “a reckless and relentless tool” to grind the gears of government to a halt.

While “neither party has been blameless for these tactics,” Obama said in a statement to reporters at the White House, “today’s pattern of obstruction . . . just isn’t normal; it’s not what our founders envisioned.” He cited filibusters against executive branch appointments and judicial nominees on grounds that he said were based simply on opposition to “the policies that the American people voted for in the last election.”

Read More

Open Thread……………………………..Thursday, November 21

MoonHowler

gratitude

As we prepare for Thanksgiving, it can mean many things, depending on who you talk to.  To some folks, it marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.  To other folks, it means a weekend of football.  To others, it is a time for traditional cooking as well as a time to try out new recipes.

Still others hate cooking and will gather with family and friends at local restaurants so someone else has clean up duty.  Where are the good Thanksgiving Day dinners?

Then there are the leftovers.  Some people enjoy the day after far more than the official day.

Obama Derangement Syndrome rears its ugly head

MoonHowler

Gasp!  Shriek! Faint!  Obama [spittle flies forth] has taken any mention of God out of the Gettysburg Address!  That proves it!  Obama is a Muslim socialist.  Calm down., Calm down!  The right wing media, (wing ding media) is all a buzz over the dissing of God by the Socialist in Chief.

Here is one of the gentler gasp and shouts from nationalreview.com:

President Obama cut God out of his recitation of the Gettysburg Address.

In a recorded recitation uploaded to YouTube on November 9, President Obama read the address in its entirety. However, when it came to the line “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom,” the President left out the words “under God.”

Obama’s omission occurs at the 1:35 mark.

The video was used by PBS to create a montage of celebrities and all living presidents reciting the address. Obama’s omission is not included in that video.

Read More