TENNESSEE HAS A METH PROBLEM

screamed the headline I saw today. Maybe...but I think that is a MINOR problem compared to the idiocy coming from our state legislators these days. We PAY these people with our tax dollars to come up with such doozies as a Proposal to Ban Sharia Law, and our crazy-quilt redistricting plan that has NO rational basis? (Actually, there's no rational basis for the ban, either.)

Of course it makes sense to the NRA for our citizens to be able to now lawfully carry their guns into a bar. (I've never seen that alcohol and guns would be a problem.....) If new legislation goes through, you'll soon be able to lawfully keep your gun in your car in the parking lot where you work. Always handy if you feel like using it during work hours, I guess. You might also be able to to use them on the deer that seem to "ravaging" our area. Or at least that was the why "all the coyotes were delivered  to this area to keep the deer population down" said another of our local politicians

There's also a proposal by one of our illustrious politicians that will prohibit using federal funds for any advertising campaign against any lawfully manufactured and distributed food, such as soda pop, candy, or snack foods. Guess he doesn't think balanced meals for kids is too important these days. And no, this wasn't brought up by the same TN guy who was "caught on fire" on Politifact for saying that "less than 10 percent of those in the House were wealthy."

Of course, we all VERY proud of our "Don't Say Gay" ordinance. And there is our very own Fool On The Hill spouting for all the world to hear that "AIDS/HIV was first spread by a man having sex with monkeys." And this same person cannot understand why he was asked politely to leave a restaurant because of the owner's personal objections to such remarks. But I'm sure he was in a hurry to go to Dayton, TN to view the museum commemorating the Scopes MonkeyTrial....

Religious Freedom, Republican Style

Darrell Issa and his fake GOP hearing on religious freedom is enough to make anyone vomit. Especially any woman. He's rounded up a bunch of elderly, white conservative men to push forth an agenda that has already been settled in previous decades. Other presidents (including Bush) and other politicians (Romney, who is making...clawing, scratching, reinventing....his way to the White House) have already made the same decision President Obama has done. http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-gop-contraceptives-20120216,0,3392996.story

Since the GOP has NO plans for creating jobs, NO plans for a reasonable budget in which there are sensible cuts and EVERYBODY takes some kind of hit (called "shared sacrifice"), NO intention of addressing the problems our global environment and economy faces,and can only push their outrage against "those leeching unemployed poor people and selfish seniors" so far......they do what they can: stir up a hornet's nest BOUND to rile and outrage their base (whatever that is). Not totally satisfied with the results with their Koch-fuelled agenda against abortion across the country, they are moving on to contraception.

HEY, FOOLS: BIRTH CONTROL PREVENTS THE NEED FOR ABORTIONS.

But, as my comment on a network news site earlier today:

The Repubs have NOTHING ELSE. They are on the wrong side of history. They do not care about women, children, the poor, gays, jobs, people without jobs, the environment, the economy (unless it affects their bottom line), healthcare (anybody else's), the rest of the world, seniors.............the ONLY thing that matters to them is GET THAT BLACK GUY OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE. and they are NOW using the Catholic church to hopefully achieve that end. (They will dump the bishops too, If and WHEN they accomplish this. But don't hold your breath on THAT outcome......)

I have to stop now..........I feel a migraine coming on.

Where Have All The Ribbons Gone?

 Just happened to notice something as I drive around the outskirts of good old Knoxville here: the cars seem to be devoid of all the ubiquitous Pink for the Cure stick-ons. Usually they are plastered hither, thither and yon........but they are no longer omnipresent. There are, of course, still some Pink for the Cure license plates. Wadda ya gonna do?

Seems just like the other day that the Republicans (I don't know if they were called Right wingers then) were up in arms because a Catholic was running for President of the United States. A papist, mind you, here in River City....or something like that. JFK had to practically swear a second oath that the Catholic Church or the Vatican would NOT influence any decisions he made in his capacity as president. Now we have Mike Huckabee announcing at CPAC (that conservative anti-Obama rally for the GOP) that "we are all Catholics now." Bet the Baptists are none too happy about that.........

Of course, we all know how the Vatican feels about contraception. Too bad they don't feel the same way about rape or child molestation, but I digress. Seems like they're up in arms over "having to provide it for their insured women, and it's against their religion." President Obama simply adjusted the proposal to say 'OK, YOU don't have to cover them due to 'religious grounds' but your employees can get still them through SOME insurance coverage NOT provided by you." Uh.....never mind......

After a while it gets a LITTLE tiring, playing in the sand box with this group of kindergartners. All they want to do is take their shovels, beach balls, pails, water bottles, and blankies and say "No, you can't play unless we do it MY way."  Or "I was here first....."

All I can say is: I'm glad I"M not running the daycare.......

JUST FOLLOWING THE LEADERS

Well, folks, looks like another Republican governor has been reading the instruction manuel handed out by the ALEC and the Koch Brothers when he was elected. Another state is being forced to "make government cuts to consolidate, streamline and save money." Oh, and by the way...give all this authority to do so...to the said governor.

NASHVILLE — Having completed a "top-to-bottom review" of more than 200 arms of state government, Gov. Bill Haslam is moving to assert more direct control over their operations and reduce their numbers.

His move has stirred some bipartisan unease among legislators and outright opposition from representatives of some professions and industries regulated by the boards and commissions impacted.

About 140 job positions would be abolished in 22 different governmental organizations.

In general, critics see Haslam's legislative proposals as an unwarranted assertion of executive political power that undermines the independent operations of agencies. These agencies, they believe, are working well and, in most cases, operate on fees collected from regulated industries rather than general tax dollars.


http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/feb/05/haslam-seeks-more-control-over-tennessees/

These Boards oversee such things as education, the Arts, water treatment, environment, the TVA, children's services, aging, disabilities, and gas & oil. (Haslam's family started and still own Pilot Oil.) 

Of course, all of this is being done quietly....hoping people won't notice. And since this is a Red State (except downtown Knoxville!) it'll be 10 years before anybody notices something's wrong.....

COINCIDENCE........

or concerted effort? I'll let the reader decide.

1.) The Republican Party has made defunding Planned Parenthood, an organization whose main focus is providing healthcare to all women,  it's main objective because 3% of PP's services are used to provide early term abortions. (No matter what those extreme nut cases try to push in their "videos") PP also provides contraception counseling, testing and treatment  of STDs and HIV, pregnancy care, and breast health information.

2.) The Susan G. Komen  Foundation suddenly withdrew funding for any breast health services from PP, citing "a new policy that prohibits dealing with organizations that are under any investigation." PP is being "investigated" McCarthy-style by a Republican Senator for "abortion funding." SGK board is filled with RW supporters, the Vice President 

of Policy being Karen Handel, a former Repub politico.

3.) The Komen foundation quietly last year stopped funding to several hospitals for embryonic stem cell research for breast cancer.These stem cells ostensibly come from fetuses.

4.) Repub Gov. of Tennessee Haslam rescinded funding awarded last fall to PP for STD and HIV testing.  No reason given. These have nothing to do with "abortion services."

5.) The Right Wing, using the Catholic church as it's battering ram, is pushing for no insurance coverage for birth control. They'd love to outlaw it all together.

6.) While saying he's not worried about the poor..."they have safety nets"....Mitt Romney agreed in an earlier interview that the safety nets for the poor in this country aren't working.

The biggest thing NOT WORKING in this country is the Republican Party and their Fundamentalist Taliban.....unless you count taking us back to the 18th century.

Just a coincidence.......I'm sure.

Boobs in the Right Wing

.........and I'm not talking about those running for the Republican presidential nomination these days. I mean the ill-timed, selfish, obviously political move by the Susan G. Komen Foundation yesterday to stop all grants to the Planned Parenthood organization to perform mammograms for low income women.

How convenient that all of a sudden they have a "policy" in place that requires them to prohibit support for organizations/entities that are somehow "under investigation." For years this was apparently never a problem. The Komen Foundation has dealings with, receives money from, and by doing so supports such corporations as Bank Of America, GE, Lowes, Caterpillar, and American Airlines. Paragons of virtue every one of them.

Enter Karen Handel, their new  Senior Vice President of Policy, a "born again" Christian and Republican candidate for Governor of Georgia in 2010. During her political career, in other positions in that state she upheld the Voter ID act and proof of citizenship push, against the ACLU. Of course, she is very anti-abortion .... for whatever reason.


The Susan G. Komen Foundation, with help from a Big Parma Company of course, started the Race for the Cure and pushed "pink" onto everything: soup cans, pens, running shoes, cars,website, TV shows, pill boxes, catfood.....you name it. This got to be quite a money maker ("for research and development" of course) and they didn't want anyone else using their "For the Cure" in any context. And to prove it they  sued a smaller local group for doing so, even though this group was doing it "for cancer." The SGK uses approximately 13% of the money donated for "cancer research"...........really? Interesting........


Enter the Right Wing Republican extremists, bent on keeping this country under it's collective thumb, a mission they have devoted themselves to since November 2008. Any group of people that they can denigrate, mock, disenfranchise or take services from, they aim to do it: nonwhites, unemployed, seniors, public workers, unions, Liberals, Hispanics, immigrants,women, the poor...and now poor women (without insurance)who might need mammograms. Anything that might even SEEM to give "aid and support" to ANY belief they deem against their idea of morality (don't get me started on that)...it's outa here.


So tell me, Mr. Romney...where are those "safety nets" that the poor people you're not worried about can catch?


You might also want to check out the following:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/39866_Susan_G._Komen_Official_Resigned_in_Protest_Over_Planned_Parenthood_Cut-Off/comments/#ctop 


http://web.archive.org/web/20100921093610/http:/blog.karenhandel.com/2010/07/karen-handel-on-life-and-planned-parenthood/