Today's Wingnut

Tell me you're a Taliban-adjacent asshole without using the word "Taliban".

The Kansas City Star:

Missouri Senate candidate Mark McCloskey says teen incest victims should be denied abortions

Republican Missouri Senate candidate Mark McCloskey told an audience last week he believes 13-year-old rape and incest victims should not be allowed to have abortions, stating he had a client who was raped at 13 but who gave birth to a child who now has a master’s degree. He made the comments in response to an audience member’s question at a forum in Osage Beach. “There’s a lot of candidates that say they’re pro-life but really they’re not completely pro-life,” the woman in the audience said, according to a video of the event posted on Facebook. “There’s a lot of, ‘Well in this case it would be allowed.’”

McCloskey, a St. Louis personal injury attorney, responded that he doesn’t “believe in any exceptions.” “We were down in Poplar Bluff a couple of months ago, and somebody asked me that question, ‘So you would force a 13-year-old who’s raped by a family member to keep that baby?’” he said. “And I said, ‘Yes, and more than that I’ve got that client.’ I’ve got a client who was raped by an uncle when she was 13 years old, had the child; she finished high school, finished college and got a master’s degree. That child she would have aborted finished high school, finished college and now has a master’s degree.”

It’s not clear whether McCloskey meant both the mother and the child got master’s degrees. His campaign could not immediately be reached for comment on the circumstances of the mother becoming his client. He also didn’t explicitly discuss whether his no-exceptions view includes abortions to save the life of the mother. The statements are among the most aggressive yet from Republicans seeking to curb abortions with few exceptions. Missouri passed a law in 2019 banning abortions at 8 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape and incest, but it has so far been blocked from implementation by a federal court. Most Missouri Republicans are anti-abortion but few have addressed questions of rape and incest directly. A portion of his comments was captured and sent to The Star by American Bridge, a Democratic research organization. The full hour-and-a-half candidate forum, hosted by We the People Camden County, was also posted online. Jane Cunningham, a Republican former state senator who attended the event, said the audience was thrilled by his answer. The “right to life” is a key part in the decision-making of primary voters, she said.

“It’s one of the litmus tests if you’re running in a Republican primary,” Cunningham said. Abortion exceptions have been a treacherous topic for Republicans running for U.S. Senate. In 2012, then-Missouri Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican nominee for Senate, was asked by a television station whether he supported abortion rights for women who had been raped. Akin, who died this month, responded, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” in a comment that sank his Senate campaign. McCloskey’s opponents in the Republican primary have all staked out anti-abortion stances. Most notably, Attorney General Eric Schmitt is defending the 2019 Missouri law in federal court. On Tuesday, he announced he was joining a lawsuit against the Biden administration seeking to reinstate a Donald Trump-era order that barred family planning clinics that receive federal funding from referring patients for abortions. Former Gov. Eric Greitens has pointed out his convening of an special legislative session on abortion in 2017.

Told of McCloskey’s comments, retiring Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said he is “trying to stay out of the Senate race,” but that he disagreed with McCloskey and supports exceptions to allow abortion in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. Abortion rights nationally hinge on a Supreme Court case, to be heard later this year, concerning Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. The court in that case could overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 precedent that set a constitutional right to the procedure in the first trimester. If Roe is struck down, Congress may take a more active role in regulating abortion. In September, the House passed a bill that would codify abortion rights in federal law. It’s virtually doomed to fail in the current Senate, which is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. McCloskey and his wife were catapulted to fame last summer when they brandished guns at Black Lives Matter protesters who were marching down their street in St. Louis. He launched a campaign for Senate this year and later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in the incident. His wife pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment; Gov. Mike Parson granted both a promised pardon weeks later. McCloskey has donated to Democratic candidates in the past, including former Sen. Claire McCaskill, who defeated Akin in 2012.

In Osage Beach, he said it had bothered him “as long ago as when I was in grade school” that some death penalty opponents also support abortion rights. His comments received applause from the audience. “The justice of the Supreme Court in the most heinous crimes don’t have the right to decide who should live and die,” he said. “But every 13-year-old girl on the street should be able to decide the fate of the life of their child?”

Policing The Womenfolk

Vox:

A bill recently introduced in Texas would make it possible for women to get the death penalty for having abortions.

The bill would criminalize all abortions, with no exceptions for rape or incest, and would make it possible to charge a woman with homicide for having the procedure, according to the Washington Post. The state of Texas allows capital punishment for homicide.

Rep. Tony Tinderholt, a Republican state legislator who introduced the bill, says it wouldmake people “consider the repercussions” of having sex.

“My bill simply accomplishes one goal,” Tinderholt said in a statement to media on Wednesday. “It brings equal treatment for unborn human beings under the law.”

So I guess it's time to reprise a little thing I posted a while back.

Let's say you have a chance encounter with a woman of your acquaintance at the grocery store or whatever - you don't know her well, but you know her - and you notice this usually very fit, very svelte woman is looking a bit round. You ask how she is, and rolling her eyes and giving out a big sigh, she tells you she's pregnant - again - almost 5 months into this one, which is the 4th time around - 9 years after her last one - and she is obviously not all that thrilled, having gotten the first 3 kids well into school and just getting her career back on track and this throws a pretty big wrench in the works, etc etc.

You exchange pleasantries and go on your merry way.

A year or so later, you see her again. She's looking her usual great self, and you ask about the new baby. Without going into detail, she tells you "it just didn't work out". You notice she doesn't seem to be all that sad about it, and you find yourself wondering if she's done something illegal.

What is your civic duty at that point? Do you call the authorities and report what seems to you to be her suspicious behavior?

That stoopid thing in Texas isn't going anywhere - not this time - but they keep doing it because it brings in the Taliban cash, and riles up the rubes to get out the vote, and one of these days, they might make it stick.

But in the end, here's the thing, Skeezix:

• Tadpoles ain't frogs
• Caterpillars ain't butterflies
• Ain't nothin' goin' on in my daughter's uterus that's any of your fuckin' business

So fuck the fuck off, you fucking fuck.

Theocrats Will Out

The Taliban never sleeps.

The Hill:

Tennessee lawmakers have passed a bill requiring that public schools in the state put up the motto "In God We Trust."

The legislation, which will go to Gov. Bill Haslam (R), passed the state House earlier this week, USA Today reported.

"Our national motto is on our money. It's on our license plates. It's part of our national anthem," said state Rep. Susan Lynn (R), who sponsored the legislation.
Fine by me, fellas. When do we start the drive to add "All Hail Baphomet"?

And "Praise Quetzalcoatl"?

And "Zalmoxis Makes You Free"?

And "May You Be Forever Touched By His Noodley Appendage"?

Seriously - you knuckleheads got nothing better to do?

Let us now rise, and sing The Common Pastology.

Taste Sauce, from which all spices flow;
Drink up, ye Pirates here below;
Until the Kansas School Board calls;
Praise Noodles, Sauce, and Meaty Balls.

R'Amen.

And Still

The weather vane previously known as George Will:

Iceland must be pleased that it is close to success in its program of genocide, but before congratulating that nation on its final solution to the Down syndrome problem, perhaps it might answer a question: What is this problem? To help understand why some people might ask this question, meet two children. One is Agusta, age 8, a citizen of Iceland. The other is Lucas, age 1, an American citizen in Dalton, Ga., who recently was selected to be 2018 “Spokesbaby” for the Gerber baby food company. They are two examples of the problem.

Now, before Iceland becomes snippy about the description of what it is doing, let us all try to think calmly about genocide, without getting judgmental about it. It is simply the deliberate, systematic attempt to erase a category of people. So, what one thinks about a genocide depends on what one thinks about the category involved. In Iceland’s case, the category is people with Down syndrome.

I have no idea what prompted this thinly-veiled screed against a woman's right to make her own decisions - could be as simple as Mr Will auditioning for a better slot on the Wingnut Welfare circuit.

But with the prospect of a President Mike Pence looming as a real possibility - plus the Blue Wave - the passions of the Pinched-Face Knee-Jerking American Taliban need to be whipped into a rich creamy lather again so the GOP faithful are motivated to get out there and vote.

Or maybe he had a deadline to submit 400 words, and he just had to pull something out of the files (or his ass, which seems just as likely these days).

Anyway.

Once again, let's review:

• Caterpillars ain't butterflies
• Tadpoles ain't frogs
• Ain't nothin' goin' on in my daughter's uterus that's any of your goddamned business

So fuck off, George.

Church - n - State

There' a right good bit of this thing that don't go down so well. Worth considering though.

Cult45*

Aptly named Senator Strange:

Of course it's not just the south, but down here, these guys are thick as flies on cow shit.

And we're not gonna get it fixed in 1 or 2 elections - it's a long hard road just to get back to where we can see something that looks like Regular Order on the horizon.

Yo - Brian

At first blush, it's easy to follow Mr Fischer's reasoning as he says he "discriminated", but he wants us to understand that he's not really "discriminating" (tho' of course he is), but no really, he just wants us all to know that he thinks wimmins is all wonderful and capable and competent...but but but flip flop flip.

The not-so-discreet implication is that them wimmins is only wonderful and capable and competent at doin' all that Wimmin's Work, but hey, let's throw the gals a bone, shall we? (even a bad double entendre seems appropriate here because the kinda shit this guy peddles is convoluted enough to confuse a Byzantine Imperator).

Maybe we should talk about the obvious Mommy Issues that are just barely below the surface, but also too, anybody who spends that kinda time and energy gushing about how welcoming and comforting he feels women are - well, maybe we're into a little self-loathing; trying to admit to being a complete dickweed who has none of the loving qualities he says he finds so endearing in women.  Or maybe he's overcompensating a tiny bit because he has doubts about his own manliness.

Or maybe it's just another mundane example of a guy applying a little lubricating flattery to loosen up somebody's panties.

Fucking classic, dude.

No Means No, Dick

Except, of course, once a woman says "I do", she can't say "No, don't" ever again - she must submit to her husband because she's forfeited all rights to make her own decisions about anything.



And don't even think about giving me shit about my "prejudices against conservatives".  Conservatives don't hold radical views (that's one of the big reasons we call 'em conservative in the first fuckin' place, ya peabrain).  Stop voting for these Taliban assholes.

hat tip = Addicting Info

Today's Uber Patriot

From The Columbus Dispatch, via Charlie Pierce:

An Indiana National Guardsman was arrested outside Columbus on New Year’s Day after a state trooper found nearly 50 bombs and the blueprints for a Navy SEAL training facility inside his car, the Madison County prosecutor said yesterday.

Andrew Scott Boguslawski, 43, also had a remote-control device to detonate the bombs, Madison County Prosecutor Stephen Pronai said. Boguslawski’s civilian job is as a groundskeeper at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in south-central Indiana. Prosecutors could not say definitively yesterday whether the blueprints in his car were for the facility where he worked.
Boguslawski also had a bulletproof vest in his car, Pronai said.

“He said something to the trooper about making a bomb vest,” Pronai said.
Lt. Col. Cathy Van Bree, a spokeswoman for the Indiana National Guard, said Boguslawski is a specialist in the guard who does intelligence analysis and has top-secret clearance.

Pronai said Boguslawski, who is from Moores Hill, Ind., appeared to be heading to Indiana when a state trooper clocked him going 85 mph in a 70 mph zone on I-70. When the trooper came back to the car to give Boguslawski a ticket, he saw the handle of a gun between his legs.

The trooper ordered Boguslawski out of the car and called for backup. Investigators found three more guns in the car — all loaded — and 48 bombs. They also found material to make more explosives.

Pronai said most of the bombs were small. He said investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have searched Boguslawski’s house, and that local and federal investigators are trying to determine whether Boguslawski planned to attack the military facility. They are also combing through a computer, cameras and GPS found in his car.

Boguslawski is charged in Madison County with one count of manufacturing explosives, a second-degree felony. A preliminary court hearing is scheduled for Friday. He is being held at Tri-County Jail in Mechanicsburg in lieu of a $1 million bond.

Somebody please enlighten me as to how this dipwad from the American MidWest is in any discernible way materially different from any randomly selected Taliban/Al Qaeda dipwad from anywhere in South Asia or the Middle East.

And BTW - when Uncle Charlie talks, we should listen:

The argument really isn't about guns, per se. The argument is about a well-financed, and profitable in return, marketing strategy by weapons manufacturers and their sublets in Congress, and the media bubble that they all inhabit, through which people are fed a constant diet of indigestible paranoid crud about the government and the people in it. This isn't all coming directly from some crackpot on a shortwave in upper Michigan. It's the barely concealed subtext of everything that Wayne LaPierre has said in public in his entire career. It's what's behind the winks from Princess Dumbass of the Northwoods, who brags in her book-like product about giving a gun for Christmas as an act of "civil disobedience." There is a culture being created, and there are reckless, opportunistic people who are turning a buck on it, and not everybody marinating in that culture is necessarily the most well-balanced jar on the shelf. This isn't about guns. It is about weaponry. It is about why someone would arm themselves so luxuriously, and how they came to believe it was necessary. I think we've been awfully damned lucky so far.

Malala Yousafzai

She stood up at home to speak her mind. She said girls should have the same rights as boys - to go to school; to learn whatever they need to know to become who and what they want to be; to make their own decisions and to be left alone to guide their own destinies.  So last year, when she was 15 years old, the AfPak-equvalent of Ted Nugent & George Zimmerman shot her in the head because her ideas threatened their sense of 9th-century entitlement.

Yesterday, on her 16th birthday - which made it a classic go-blow-yourself gesture - Ms Yousafzai stood up at the UN and said in a clear strong voice (tho' not in these specific words), "Fuck you, Ted Nugent."

And fuck all ya'll if you think you have enough guns and ammo to silence everybody who wishes to speak openly about aspiring to make the world just a bit less hostile to people who only want to live their lives as they choose.  (And isn't that what the Nugents are always pretending to be saying anyway?)

Better men and bigger assholes than puny dicks like Nugent & Zimmerman have been trying to conquer the world for a coupla thousand centuries.  And guess what - the world remains undefeated.  Wanna know why?  Cuz good ideas are bulletproof, ya fuckin' doofus.

History New Found

"I join you therefore in sincere congratulations that this den of the priesthood is at length broken up, and that a protestant popedom is no longer to disgrace the American history and character." --Thomas Jefferson

From a site called Liars For Jesus, and a lady who knows her shit.



This David Barton guy is running a typical play from "conservatives".  Take a guy like Tommy Jeff, who practically personified The Enlightenment and who was pretty representative of The Founders' near-unanimous rejection of "princes and popes" - you take that guy and you turn him into something he's not, using revisionist bunkum and outright lies.

And There It Is

The exposure parade continues.  Sec'y Sebelius tries to explain to US Rep Tim Murphy (R-Brainfart) how contra-ception works, but he can't hear what she's saying because God is stomping around in his head, making too much awesomely righteous noise up there or some-damn-thing.

(hat tip ThinkProgress)

SEBELIUS: There also is no abortifacient drug that is part of the FDA approved contraception. What the rule for preventive care…

MURPHY: Ma’m that is not true…Is the morning after pill or something like that an abortifacient drug?

SEBELIUS: It is a contraceptive drug, not an abortifacient… It does not interfere with a pregnancy. If the morning pill were taken, and a female were pregnant, the pregnancy is not interrupted. That’s the definition of abortifation.

MURPHY: Ma’m that is your interpretation, and I appreciate that’s your interpretation.

SEBELIUS: That’s what the scientists and doctors…

MURPHY: We’re not talking about scientists. Ma’m we’re not talking about scientists here, we’re talking about religious belief. Ma’m, I’m asking you about a religious belief. In a religious belief, that is a violation of a religious belief.

And there it is.  Science doesn't matter.  Fact doesn't matter.  Reality doesn't matter.  If truth goes against my religion-fueled ideology, then truth must be dismissed and ignored and condemned.

One last thing: according to Ayn Rand, (approx - The Fountainhead) "...evil is when a man sees the truth - recognizes it for what it is - and denies it."

The Richmond Clown College

We actually pay these guys for this.



Notice how (apparently) Mr Albo feels he has to trick his wife into having sex with him.  OK, so a little wine and some slow-hand maneuvering can be romantic and seductive (even in this High School Fuck-Around kinda way), but why do we need to know any of that?  What's the point?  And why exactly did she really lose her lust and bolt from his clutches warm and tender embrace?

This guy seems to think it was because of Mr Englin's use of the term 'vaginal', which Mr Albo can't even bring himself to utter.  But isn't it just as likely she was so turned off by this moron's attempts to install the Virginia State Government in every woman's crotch that she felt a sudden and urgent need to slap his doughy little face around to the other side of his stupid fuckin' head, and so her only real option was to flee?

Just askin'.

And remember - the bad guys don't show up looking like bad guys.  Sometimes, they show up looking all soft and cuddly and jovial; like this Albo schmuck.

(hat tip = Wonkette)