Moonhowlings

Rick Perry has decided that he was been wrong about abortion.  After watching Mike Huckabee’s video on abortion, he has decided that the government does have a right to force a woman to bear a child that was conceived from rapeand/ or incest.  He was unclear about whether life of the mother should be discarded in favor of the fetus.

 My question is, when is it going to end?   If the new Perry position isn’t extreme enough, perhaps one of the big Ron Paul supporters is.  IN fact, the Ron Paul campaign is doing nothing to distance itself from this YoYo, reported  by outsidethebeltway.com :

Four years ago, the Ron Paul campaign generated controversy by not repudiating the endorsement of the neo-Nazi group Stormfront, but at least back then they didn’t actually promote the fact that they had received the endorsement. This time, though, they seem pretty proud about getting the support of a Nebraska Pastor who has made some pretty vile comments:

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When did Fox News turn in to the 700 Club?  Apparently this past Thanksgiving.  The foxies all got bunched up over counting how often President Obama said ‘God’ in his Thanksgiving Day address.  Give me a break!  Thanksgiving is a secular holiday. 

 Jon Stewart has a great deal to say about the Foxies making much ado over stuffing on   Thanksgiving:

Isn’t religion a private matter?  Fox News really made a big deal out of this issue.  They have outdone themselves.  This falls into the land of who cares with me.  I don’t need presidents to tell me to talk about God. If I want to, I do.  If I don’t, I don’t.

Let’s face it, The job of Fox News is to stir up stuff about President Obama. 

From www.politicususa.com:

Beck played a clip of Stewart asking how the Occupy Wall Street protesters aren’t like the tea party, and said, “How long do you have Jon? You’ve only got a half hour show. I’ve got a two hour show, and I can’t fit it in two hour, Jon. Open your eyes, you moron. Stu said, Yeah, but if you just say it, and the crowd laughs, it’s true that makes it true. They’re the same. They’re exactly the same. How are they different? They’re talking about killing and cannibalizing the rich. Just like the tea party.” Beck chimed in, “They’re talking about revolution in the streets and destroying the entire system, just like the tea party.” Stu said, “Remember when the tea party talked about Google Jews and how evil they are?” Beck came back with more insults for Stewart, “It must be true, you dope. You know Jon Stewart; I have absolutely no respect for you. You are not a thinking man at all.”

There are a couple people not to mess with on here. One is Bill Clinton and the other is Jon Stewart. I might have to add Steve Jobs to the list but so far, he is not on there. This was Glenn Beck and crew’s response to the video segment on the Daily Show entitled Parks and Demonstration.

Glenn Beck basically has no class. He is coarse and common and it is wonderful that he is no longer on Fox News. Actually the gang of 5 who replaced him are doing a pretty decent job. Of course, they profit by comparison. The first thing Beck needs to do is grow up. Maybe his wife can help him work on acquiring some class. His bishop needs to get hold of him. No Mormon I have ever known has acted like this.

Jon Stewart is probably smirking right now.  Go Jon.

So, once again, Jaimie Zielger, Peter Candland’s wanna be pit bull, is going after me.

When I sent out the pledge for all candidates to sign in late July, what I received back from Peter Candland was a letter questioning  the validity of Advocates for the Rural Crescent. I sent a hard copy letter in response immediately. In fact, I was forced to send a hard copy to his campaign address as Mr. Candland did not have the common courtesy to include a direct e-mail or a phone number.  Let me add, that a current campaign worker for him has known me for several years.

Here is what was what was said on the not so truthful blog:

The ONLY basis for Ann Wheeler’s claim Peter Candland does not support protecting the Rural Crescent is Candland’s decision not to sign the Rural Crescent Pledge authored by liberal activist Elena Schlossberg-Kunkel. Candland asked for more information from Schlossberg-Kunkel about the organization and the political agenda being advocated by her, but got no response.

But Candland then got smeared with the false claim that he did not support protecting the Rural Crescent.

First of all, I have never smeared Peter Candland, I have simply acknowledged those who signed the pledge and their commitment to the Rural Crescent.

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I actually feel sorry for Peter Candland and I will tell you why.  Apparently, his M.O. now is to attack Ann Wheeler for  her statement “I am not an ideologue”.  From the blog he is promoting on his official facebook page:

This is a candidate that does not want to be associated with any political ideology, particularly the Democratic platform.

Let me share why I feel sorry for Mr. Candland.  I have had the privilege of working with people from many different perspectives in Prince William County on various issues, from land use, to power lines, to parks, to Silver Lake, to public school issues, et al.  I have built friendships with people that do not share the exact same political belief system as I do.  You know what, I am proud to call them friends. 

Ann Wheeler is telling Gainesville citizens that she is interested in solving problems based on best solutions not based on whether you have an R or a D by your name.  Isn’t that what we all want, people interested in coming together to solve problems! 

Does Peter Candland believe that Prince William County residents want our local government to emulate the  dysfunction we see happening the National level?  I for one do not.   Is Peter Candland’s message to the Gainesville District one of divisiveness? 

Does Mr. Candland understand that in order for a Democracy to be healthy, we must have differing opinions, and vigorous debate?  Mr. Candland being a Republican is no more unacceptable than Ann Wheeler being a Democrat.

Peter Candland clearly prefers to have a very small and myopic circle of friends and associates, ones that only share his point of view on all issues.

As an elected leader, it is critical that one have the ability and interest to reach out to those  with whom you may have differing opinions in order to find the best solutions.

Americanindependent.com:

Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty have signed on to the Susan B. Anthony List’s 2012 Pro-life Presidential Leadership Pledge. The presidential candidates have pledged to roll back abortion rights in four key areas, and the duo join three other presidential contenders: Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Bachmann went after fellow presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Sunday for not signing the pledge and not committing to “ending the practice of abortion.”

 The candidates pledged to appoint anti-abortion judges, to appoint anti-abortion cabinet members, to defund Planned Parenthood and to sign a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks gestation.

Bachmann went after Mitt Romney for not signing the pledge.

So there is a litmus test now for presidential appointments, cabinet members, and I would assume Supreme Court Justices?  I guess its official now.  What about the 50% (at least) of us who are pro-choice?  

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Its pretty bad when an organization makes even the KKK look decent.  It appears that the KKK even came out to protest Westboro Baptist Church’s intrusion into the Memorial Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Westboro has even grossed out the KKK. That’s when you know you are just VILE. 

The KKK was cordoned off from the other protesters who were there to support the troops on this Memorial Day.

Full story at CNN.com

Jon Stewart points out the fallacy in the lies told about Planned Parenthood.  

  Stewart claims that Senator Jon  Kyl (R-AZ) only lied to get his way.  Kyl claims that 90% of what Planned Parenthood does is abortion when the actual number is around 3%.   Easy to get 3% mixed up with 90%. 

Why do politicians lie?  They want to get their way.  Life is simple.  Now I understand. 

Is lying ever justified in politics?  What if you REALLY believe in something?  Or against something?  Isn’t lying just a little ok?

After the State of the Union Address, the opposition address will be given by Republican Paul Ryan  of Kentucky.   This job is often given to party rising stars.  Ryan is expected to be a party uniter.  After the senator speaks, Michele Bachmann will give her Tea Party Caucus response.  Bachmann is noted for for angry, anti-Obama rhetoric.  Yahoo News gives us some clues of what might be in store for us after the SOTUA:

 A recent analysis by the Pulitzer Prize-winning watchdog site PolitiFact showsthat of the 13 times she’s been fact-checked, “seven of her claims [have been found] to be false and six have been found to be ridiculously false,” says PolitiFact Editor Bill Adair. “I don’t know anyone else that we have checked, more than a couple times, that has never earned anything above a false. She is unusual in that regard.” Among Bachmann’s greatest hits: saying that Obama will hike taxes on small businesses that make $250,000 (“pants on fire”); claiming that “the president of the United States will be taking a trip over to India that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day” (“false”); and declaring that in the 1970s, “the swine flu broke out… under another Democrat, President Jimmy Carter” (“pants on fire”). Beyond all the easily disprovable falsehoods, Bachmann is famous for simply saying outrageous things: that homosexuality is a “dysfunction”; that Obama is turning America into a “nation of slaves”; that conservatives should “slit their wrists” and be “blood brothers” to defeat health-care reform.

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Pima County sheriff Clarence Dupnik has come under fire for referring  to his state, Arizona, as a ‘mecca for prejudice and bigotry.’   Those are harsh words, but is the sheriff just calling it as he sees it?

The longer version (7 minutes) where Sheriff Dupnik talks about his thoughts.  He does not call out a specific group or person here either.  He just talks about the history of threats against Gabby Giffords and also about the level  of anger in the rhetoric in this country.

It is important to note that Sheriff Dupnik called no individual or group by name.  Perhaps those who follow the sheriff’s politics know to whom he is referring.  I do not.  Is Arizona a mecca for bigotry?  If yes, what has made it that way?  Is it just about immigration or do other political issues come in to play?  Congresswoman Giffords was a strong supporter of increased border security. 

Moonhowlings featured a post on Sheriff Clarence Dupnik  last spring.  He felt it was stupid to throw illegal immigrants in jail at tax payer expensive when he could just turn them over to the border control.  At the time, it was also determined that the mayor of Tucson also opposed the new Arizona legislation, SB 1070.   He turned thousands of undocumented immigrants over to the border control. 

As we return to the question, is Arizona a mecca of intolerance?  Does the political climate in Arizona make this state more vulnerable to shootings and assassinations?  Does the drug violence have any play in this discussion?

by NPR Staff, National Public Radio

January 8, 2011

 

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot outside a grocery store in Tucson while holding a public event, Arizona Public Media reported Saturday.

Giffords, who was re-elected to her third term in November, was hosting her first “Congress on Your Corner” event at the Safeway in northwest Tucson when a gunman ran up and started shooting, according to Peter Michaels, news director of Arizona Public Media.

At least five other people, including members of her staff, were hurt. Giffords was transported to University Medical Center in Tucson. Her condition was not immediately known.

Giffords was talking to a couple when the man ran up firing indiscriminately, and then ran off, Michaels said. According to other witnesses, the was tackled by a bystander and taken into custody.

Fox News reported that she was shot at point blank range in the head by a gunman who was firing indiscriminately. 

According to Wikipedia:

She is the only member of the U.S. Congress whose spouse, astronaut Mark E. Kelly, is an active duty member of the U.S. military.

Giffords is known as a strong proponent of solar energy as well as for her work to secure the border with Mexico

This is the third time she has met at this type of community event in Tucson.  She is 40 years old.     11 others, including local staff members, were also shot.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Rep. Giffords.

Fox News is reporting that there are multiple fatalities and that the congressman has died.  They are trying to get official confirmation.

The above information was incorrect.  Gabrielle Giffords  is out of surgery.  She is alive, in critical condition, but the doctor who just spoke said he was optomistic about her recovery.

Let the foolishness begin.  Now we  don’t have mothers and fathers.  I still haven’t recovered from the girl winning damages about 20 years ago for being called a water buffalo.  Now we have this, and out of the State Department no less!

According to the Washington Post:

The State Department has decided to make U.S. passport application forms “gender neutral” by removing references to mother and father, officials said, in favor of language that describes one’s parentage somewhat less tenderly.

The change is “in recognition of different types of families,” according to a statement issued just before Christmas that drew widespread attention Friday after a Fox News report.

The announcement of the change was buried at the end of a Dec. 22 news release, titled “Consular Report of Birth Abroad Certificate Improvements,” that highlighted unrelated security changes.

I don’t care if gay people adopt children or have children by whatever means that happens.  But, I am not willing to become parent 1 or parent 2 for the sake of a situation that  rarely occurs.  As far as I am concerned, the gay parents can just flip over who gets to be the mom and who gets to be the dad.  

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With Boehner’s chief of staff, after the election.

If Nancy Pelosi met with a known terrorist with a criminal record, there would be a hue and cry.  Apparently soon-to -be Speaker John Boehner isn’t being held to the same standard.  According to Right Wing Watch:

And Terry apparently  issued some big demands for Boehner and the Republicans now that they have taken control of the House – the complete end of abortion in America:

We must demand that Republicans who won the House of Representatives hasten the end of legalized child killing in America. Their victory could be a strong step forward for the babies, but it also might be yet another set back after 50,000,000 dead babies.

We must not delude ourselves! The landslide the Republicans enjoyed in the House of Reps was a repudiation of President Obama’s overall agenda; it was about the economy, about jobs, corporate bailouts, the debt, and about his health care bill.

Yet we already see pro-life fundraising letters and petitions heralding this GOP victory as an automatic victory for the babies’ lives. This is simply not true!

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Both Sharon Angle and Christine O’Donnell lost their bid for election but both will probably remain on the political scene.  Both will put in many appearances on TV.  Why?  Both own huge national donor lists that are capable of bringing in up to $8 million dollars off of the Internet.  That is a lot of money and very little flesh pressing.  No rubber chicken dinners.  No wallowing with Sleazles.  Just clean, crisp political money.

According to Politico.com:

Both women worked with the same online fundraising consultant: Kurt Luidhardt’s The Prosper Group Corporation, an 11-person shop based in the Indianapolis suburbs. Luidhardt declined to go into specifics on the size of Angle and O’Donnell’s fundraising lists, but said each has “high tens of thousands” of online donors.

Both women own their own lists, not Luidhardt.  If I must see either, I want to see O’Donnell.  Her politics are dreadful but she, herself, is charming.  Maybe she will give Bill Maher another chance.

For the past several days I have been seeing and hearing a Gerry Connolly campaign commercial that paints Candidate Keith Fimian as an extremist.  Most campaign ads are background noise to me so it went in one ear and out the other.  Besides, most campaign ads are full of hyperbole and exaggeration.  Then I perked up my ears.  The ad said that Fimian supported the rights of pharmacists to not dispense contraception.  Now THAT IS extremist. 

I have tried researching this allegation, without much luck.  I even went to the  Legatuswebsite.  Fimian is a member of Legatus, which is a Catholic organization, founded by Dominos Pizza Magnet Tom Monaghan for very wealthy Catholic business folks and their spouses.  I didn’t find out much there either.  Maybe it’s me.  However, I haven’t heard anything which disputes this claim.  This makes me nervous. 

There has been somewhat of an uproar the past several years about pharmacists with religious objections being forced to dispense contraception, in particular, the morning after pill.  NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia  has this to say:

In addition to lack of contraceptive equity, Virginia’s so-called “conscience clause” allows pharmacists to decide which prescriptions they will and will not provide. This means that a pharmacist could legally refuse to fill a doctor’s prescription for birth control or stock or distribute emergency contraception. Since when do pharmacists get to step inside the doctor-patient relationship and refuse to fill necessary prescriptions?

 

Conscience Clause?  Where did that come from?  Someone slipped that one by me.  The more I google, the more I unearth and the angrier I get.  This thread needs to be a work in progress.  First of all, anyone who has knowledge of Fimian’s position on allowing pharmacists to cherry pick what prescriptions they will fill, please let us know.  I don’t have a bone to pick with private pharmacies who post, in clear view on their door that they do not sell or dispense contraception.  However, other stores open to the public without disclaimers should really not be involved in type of exclusionary behavior.  I consider it equivalent to the Muslim cab driver who wouldn’t let bottles of liquor in his cab.  Find another job. 

Secondly, what kinds of legislation have been passed that allow ‘conscience clauses and require pharmacist counselling?  How offensive.  If one works for a pharmacy, the job is to fill prescriptions, not chime in with a moral opinion.  If that is an issue, go work for a private religious hospital or pharmacy. 

I would especially welcome and appreciate word from the Fimian campaign that this information is indeed false.  This is the year 2010, in the United States of America.  Griswald was decided 45 years ago.