How corrupt is your state?

The Center for Public Integrity has just completed its State Integrity Investigation and on the surface there is no state that stands out in the ratings.  Except maybe New Jersey, in part because of its improvement over past history of corruption in government.  NJ is number one, Georgia is last.  The investigation is the first of its kind to assess transparency, accountability and anti-corruption mechanisms in all 50 states.  Not one state earned an “A” rating and eight received an “F.”

The Center for Public Integrity says: "In every state, there's room to improve the ethics laws, the level of transparency on government proceedings, the disclosure of information, and — most importantly — the oversight of these laws.”  One of the major findings was that even when ethics laws are passed, they are tough to enforce and often don’t carry meaningful charges. 

Those states with histories of corruption often have the toughest laws that expose the scandals.  On the other hand, with fewer regulations in place, a state is likely not to identify these problems.  The research included 330 corruption risk indicators across 14 government categories including:

Access to information, campaign finance, executive accountability, legislative accountability, judicial accountability, budgeting, civil service management, procurement, internal auditing, lobbying disclosure, pension fund management, ethics enforcement, insurance commissions, and redistricting.



Georgia state flag



The five states with a “B” rating were New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, California and Florida in that order.  In the “Cs,” this group totaled nineteen with Mississippi first and Wisconsin last.  The “Ds” went to another 18 states, Minnesota first, Nevada last.  Eight getting an “F” rating with Michigan first and Georgia last.  Check your state here, which includes the actual score it received.   
SII singled out some states for blatant violations that justified mentioning: Tennessee established its ethics commission six years ago, but has yet to issue a single ethics penalty.  Can’t know if it’s even working since complaints are kept secret; North Carolina legislator sponsored and voted on a bill to loosen regulations on billboard construction, even though he co-owned five billboards in the state; 650 Georgia govt. employees accepted illegal gifts from vendors.

As far as the measurements used by the Integrity Index, several methods are employed, one recently naming Chicago as the most corrupt city in the U.S. and New York as the most corrupt state.  And these are February numbers released by the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs, based on public corruption conviction data from the Department of Justice.  Although New Jersey beat its bad rap, the windy City can’t seem to shake it off.

The State Integrity Index researched the 330 “Integrity Indicators” across 14 categories of state government covered above.  “Indicators assess what laws, if any, are on the books (‘in law’ indicator) and whether the laws are effective in practice (‘in practice’ indicators). In many states, the disconnect between scores on a state’s law and scores in practice suggest a serious “enforcement gap.”  The laws may be there but just aren’t followed.

Arizona state flag

A classic case that received nationwide attention was when Arizona’s legislators admitted to violating the state’s financial disclosure policy after failing to report trips paid for by the Fiesta Bowl. Neither the Senate nor the House Ethics committee followed with an investigation.  One of the major offenders was State Senator Russell Pearce, who was later recalled in an election that was the first of its kind in the U.S.  He is running again for the state Senate.

Video of Fiesta Bowl scandal

The Center for Public Integrity’s State Integrity Investigation looks at one side of the corruption issue that evaluates your state’s standing in passing and enforcing laws that apply to how the state operates.  However, there is a sinister movement going on across the country today sponsored by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that could literally destroy states citizens’ rights.  More on this and ALEC’s connection to the NRA later.



Study says Florida shooter could have shot Trayvor Martin simply because the watch captain was armed

The new study done by James Brockmole of the University of Notre Dame and psychologist Jessica Witt at Perdue University asks the question: “Could the watch captain have been fooled into thinking the youth was armed in part because he himself was holding a gun?”  According to The Washington Post, undergraduates at Notre Dame and Perdue were prone to think others were holding a weapon if they were holding a toy gun themselves.

The study was done long before the shooting but Brockmole says it is possible that George Zimmerman’s (the watch captain) perception might “…have been skewed by being armed.  Brockmole also admits that race may have been a factor (Zimmerman is Hispanic), and “Past research suggests that people can be more likely to perceive a poorly seen object as a gun if it’s held by a black person than by a white person, experts say.”

The study will be published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, and Brockmole states, it is “…not intended to support gun control, but it suggests that people should know that when they hold a gun “that might change how you’re going to interpret what’s around you.”  Zimmerman was protected by a 2005 Florida law—“Stand Your Ground”—that allows him to respond with deadly force if he thinks he is threatened.

Legal analysts say the law is one reason why Zimmerman has not been arrested.  With no additional eye witnesses, they have to take the watch captain’s word.  About half the states in the U.S. have this law, which is now being questioned by law enforcement and lawmakers.  Before the above law, a self-defense claim would not have been possible since Zimmerman would have been required to just back off.  Something everyone agrees he could have done in this case.



But then back in 2011, another study was done by David Hemenway who is Director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center and the Youth Violence Prevention Center titled: Guns in the home provide greater health risk than benefit.  Right up front I will tell you that Hemenway is considered “anti-guns” by the National Rifle Assn. (NRA).  This is primarily homebound research and does not really deal with the issue of when the gun leaves the home.

Hemenway says, “When it comes to violence, nearly every figure suggests that increased presence of guns correlates with higher levels of injury and death.”  He cites homicide rates that are 14 times higher than those in most other industrialized nations for those between 15 and 24 years of age in the U.S.  Areas throughout the country with high gun ownership have more problems.  For every accidental death, 10 more go to the emergency room.



Murder crime scene



Other findings include, “In the case of battered women, lethal assaults were 2.7 times more likely to occur if a gun was present in the house; no protective effect of the gun was found.”  And in the case of George Zimmerman in the Fla. Shooting, Hemenway says, “Unlike deaths or woundings, where the definitions are clear and one needs to only count the bodies, what constitutes a self-defense gun use and whether it was successful may depend on who is telling the story."

The study’s author does say that “Results suggest that self-defense gun use may be the best method for preventing property loss."  Further he states, “using a gun in self-defense is extremely rare (most instances involve using a gun to defend against animals): studies place defensive gun use at about one percent in home invasions and 0.1 percent in sexual assaults. Moreover, police reports suggest a lot of these uses involved inappropriate use of the gun.”



Irresponsible gun owners



In summary, “Hemenway notes that a number of surveys have found that a gun kept at home is far more likely to be used in violence, an accident, or a suicide attempt than self defense.”  He also talks about poorly trained gun owners that probably won’t do a good job of protection in self defense, surmising “there's little doubt that a gun at home is generally a negative risk factor.”

And I agree with the article’s author, John Timmer, that, regardless of which side you are on, these are interesting findings that should be looked at for their usefulness in trying to help solve the gun issues.  The other side—which I will no doubt quickly hear from—must at least consider these studies in order to make an intelligent rebuttal.

Arizona government…the epitome of how not to run a state

If you think your state has problems, just look at the charade of participants, below, that make up the Republican governor’s office and GOP controlled legislature in my home state of Arizona.  This is a great state and doesn’t deserve the ridicule it receives from the antics of these wingnuts.  It is both laughable and tragic, but makes some of the best non-fiction reading in politics today. 



Jan Brewer finger wagging



The epitome of epitomes, Arizona Gov. Jan brewer wagging her finger in the face of President Obama just minutes after he had deplaned in Mesa, Arizona.  Within days a local music teacher, Leonard Clark, filed papers with Sec. of State Ken Bennett to recall Brewer.  In his words: “The whole finger wagging incident crystallized it.  She is embarrassing our state.”  A lot of Arizonans agree.  See the “Brewer Doesn’t Speak for Me” site. 

The Daily Beast concurs with Harry Reid (below) that this airport tarmac incident was “emblematic of the Arizona GOP’s increasing extremism, and it may be turning off voters.  But that’s not all.  The state GOP created a T-shirt with the encounter image on it with the phrase under it “Just one more year!”  Aside from being tacky, it is in complete bad taste, extending the disrespect pseudo Gov. Brewer showed the President, but indicative of Republican taste in Arizona.

Arizona will be forever known in the sports world as the place where one of the most prestigious annual college sports events, the Fiesta Bowl, was almost brought to its knees by a corrupt chief executive.  This wasn’t an underling to blame; it’s the top guy, the one who can be credited for much of the bowl’s success.  John Junker was caught with his hand in the political donation cookie jar. 

Junker was charged with reimbursing staff members with bowl money for making contributions to local and state candidates who helped the bowl to obtain financial subsidies.  This is illegal.  Gary Husk, bowl lobbyist and Junker associate, is also being investigated.  Current and former Fiesta Bowl employees have alleged that Husk was involved in the scheme with Junker.  The Fiesta Bowl has since recovered from the fiasco under new management.

National Democrats led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid say the GOP is now controlled by extremists like Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.  The Gov. is linked with other zealots like former Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce, who was the sponsor of the state’s anti-immigration bill, and who was recalled from his Senate seat, the first time ever. 

He is joined by Kris Kobach, current Kansas Sec. of State and fierce anti-immigration critic, who actually wrote the Arizona law SB-1070 with the American Legislative Exchange Counsil (ALEC).  Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain, failed 2008 presidential candidate, says nobody pays any attention to Reid, whom he characterized as not “totally rational.”  This from a man who chose Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate.



Russell Pearce with J.T. Ready



So what does former State Sen. Russell Pearce do when they boot him out of the Senate?  He goes on talk radio, of course.  Pearce is known for his hateful and racist ways, having befriended fellow racist J.T. Ready, who is also a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi.  Stephen Lemons of The Phoenix New Times described Pearce’s show as xenophobic, self-adulation, and delusional in the host’s “radio cafeteria of hate.”  Lemons actually tuned into one of the shows.

Expecting the worst and getting it, it was Pearce at his best ranting and raving over illegal immigration, completely demonizing Latinos.  His phone guest was former Congressman Tom Tancredo from Colorado who described the struggle against immigration as “a matter of the survival of Western Civilization.”  Lemons commented on the two as engaging “in an aural love-fest better left for a room at a Best Western.”  Pearce plans to run again for the Senate in November.



Sheriff "Joe" Arpaio



Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the baddest in the West, has a volunteer posse that he constantly raves over.  Some carry guns, and can even make arrest under the supervision of a regular deputy, but can also be former criminals themselves.  A local TV station, KPHO, investigated the posse and found arrests for assault, drug possession, domestic violence, sex crimes against children, disorderly conduct, impersonating an officer and more.  Most are still on the posse.

Douglas Clark is a posse member as well as constable who rolled a county vehicle at 91 mph in a 45 mph zone, used his siren while not on a call, and used the red/blue lights installed on his personal vehicle to look for his wife’s lost item on the road.  He also detained a driver and passenger at gunpoint who had backed into his car when he was off duty.  The posse does not receive a salary but is covered under county insurance.

There’s more, much, much, more on Arizona that I will cover at a later date to keep you laughing and wondering.  I am also interested in the shenanigans going on in your particular state so please use the “comments” to tell me about it.  Sorry, but no anonymous entries, just use an online name.

More…gun sense and nonsense

Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas

Since my last post on this subject I have been banned by the liberal blog Daily Kos for my views on gun rights fanatics, and vilified by a number of the blog’s pathetic commenters who ban together to oust anyone who writes about gun control.  And they even brag about this.  Normally I would reply to comments as I do on this blog, but early on it was obvious to me that the scourge of gun nuts on DK did not deserve a reply. 

You can see what I am talking about here in one of my earlier Daily Kos articles on gun control re. challenging the 2^nd Amendment.  Just scroll down to the comments and you will see the idle chatter of a gang of misfits, much like the conversations I remember from my elementary school days.  Distressing if your IQ is in the triple digits.  Normal these days when you challenge gun rights fanatics.  But now on to more gun sense and nonsense.

ARIZONA/CALIFORNIA/NEW MEXICO/TEXAS: The multiple rifle reporting rule that covers these four border states was upheld by U.S. Judge Rosemary Collyer saying it was “sufficiently narrowly tailored” to be rational enough in applying only to the states involved.  The gun industry claims it will only ‘burden” law-abiding retailers and not curb drug cartel sales.  The NRA filed the appeal.  Dealers must report multiple sales of semiautomatic rifles to the same person within 5 days.

The semiautomatic weapons, specifically assault rifles, should be re-banned in this country now, and, anyway, who the hell would need more than one even if they remain legal?

MEXICO: Mexican President Felipe Calderon is convinced that the United States is the major source of guns that end up in the hands of the drug cartels.  He blames it on weak American gun laws that are a fact throughout this country recently.  He also claims that in the U.S. criminals in states with strong gun laws go to states with weak laws, like Arizona, for their weapons. 

The Brady Campaign says that these weak gun law states, also including Utah and Florida, “export” crime guns to other states at a rate of nine times higher than states with stronger laws.  So the problem isn’t just across the Mexican border, the same situation exists right here in the U.S.  Brady feels that trafficking within and outside the country can only be curbed with stronger federal gun laws.

FLORIDA: The NRA backed bill, HB155, barring health care providers from asking about or talking to patients and their families about guns, was passed and signed into law in 2011.  The measure was later overturned by a federal judge because it violated doctors’ free speech rights as well as other things.  A new bill has been introduced in the Florida House, no doubt a product of the NRA, to revise the language in HB155 to gain passage. 

The hilarity of this whole issue is that the NRA will go to any length to pass legislation that will make it easier for their member gun nuts to carry their weapons any place they choose, even to the hospital’s emergency room.

ARIZONA: It’s about time this state surfaced, since its mission is “no gun control, nowhere, nohow.”  Arizona has copied “don’t ask, don’t tell,” but it has nothing to do with gay rights.  Disgraced state Sen. Russell Pearce started the trend for lawmakers to bring their guns on the Senate floor until he was ousted in a recall election.  New Senate President Steve Pierce doesn’t necessarily welcome weapons on the floor; rather, he just doesn’t want to know they are there.

Of course the NRA was there, lobbying for the new guns on campus bill, but there were no reports if these political suck-ups were armed.  This all happened only three days after the three students died in the Ohio school shooting.



Charlton Heston ranting NRA gun propaganda



MICHIGAN: Michigan has decided to boost its state’s revenue by encouraging youngsters under the age of ten to shoot a gun.  Another purpose for the young shooters program, says the state, is to teach kids how to hunt when they are young.  There is no age limit for hunting in Michigan, although some restriction apply.  The kids have to be supervised by a licensed adult, operating within arm’s length.  There was no mention of educational requirements other than mentoring.

I am going to go out on a limb here and hypothesize that the NRA is firmly behind this program in order to make sure that future membership rolls have adequate candidates.  Reminds me of the tobacco industry’s current concentration on luring young people to smoke.  That also kills people.

Sarah Palin the racist…according to a dedicated group of African Americans



Sarah Palin racism caricature



Stephen Colbert dismissed Sarah Palin as not worth our time following the January 2011, Tucson massacre that left 6 dead and 19 injured including Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords from Arizona.  Palin had posted Giffords’ district on her PAC website with rifle scope crosshairs and the caption “Don’t Retreat!  Reload!”  Palin’s reaction was to blame the media.  I mention this to illustrate what a loose cannon this imbecile posing as a human being is.

It is still hard to understand how John McCain could have picked her as a running mate.  He still doesn’t have a clue.

The ThyBlackMan.com site takes Palin to task likening her to a “corrupt evangelist” with connections to the Tea Party.  There you go.  That’s all the TPers need; a huge tent to showcase all the wackos that make up this group of fanatics.  ThyBlackMan is an organization formed to”…unite black men, not to separate and divide.”  And that’s where we lose Sarah Palin.  It is clearly her intent to leave this country a much worse place than she found it in 2008.

There is no doubt that racism is still too prevalent in America, based on several recent incidents that have occurred.  One, during the NCAA March Madness tournaments between Kansas State University and Southern Mississippi.  Based on Mississippi’s history, many would say this is typical, but the state has cleaned up its act in recent years.  And even though this latest episode wasn’t addressed at blacks, it still reeks of racism.



Racism has many faces



Apparently Mississippians have redirected their bigotry to Hispanics because in a derogatory chant the So. Mississippi band yelled “where’s your green card” to a Latino Kansas State player.  The latter team won the game by 6 points.  The school apologized but the damage was already done, captured on nationwide TV.

Then TBM talks of how Palin continues to misinform the media about “Obamacare” seeking to resurrect old prejudices from 2008.  She was in her prime on the Sean Hannity Show with a bizarre claim that former Harvard professor Derrick Bell’s call for greater diversity on the Ivy League campus was racist. 

She completely ignored the work Bell had done at Harvard on race relations, directing her appeal to extreme right wing conservatives by leading them to believe that in Obama’s connection to Bell, he was guilty of racism.  “The ignorance is baffling” says TBM, particularly for those who are unable to understand her true intentions.

Rick Santorum on racism in the video below:

And in another incident that is leaning toward racism, a 17-year-old African American in Florida, Trayvon Martin, was shot by a self-appointed white Community Watch Captain with a gun.  28-year-old George Zimmerman thought Martin looked “suspicious” and called police.  They told him not to follow the kid but he did, and confronted him with his gun.  When Martin attempted to defend himself, Zimmerman, who outweighed him by 100 pounds, shot him.  Zimmerman claimed self defense.

The Christian Post asked the question: Since Zimmerman was not administered a Breathalyzer or toxicology screen, even though it is the protocol for shootings, is it possible that he was drunk?  “Rod Wheeler, a law enforcement expert, told ABC News that Zimmerman sounded intoxicated in the 911 calls.  "When I listened to the 911 tape, the first thing that came to my mind is 'this guy sounds intoxicated.' Notice how he's slurring his words.”



Sarah Palin, with notes



ThyBlackMan comments that the Palin type of tactics have been used successfully by the GOP for years, claiming that the Republican Party has a “resentment of America’s changing demographics and the African American president currently occupying the Oval Office. 

If they think what’s happened so far is bad, what the hell will the GOP do this November when the Hispanics exert their new-found voting power in the upcoming election?

More…gun insanity…state by state

This is a continuation in my series to point out that there is gun insanity all over the country that needs to be corrected with sane gun control.  Of course, there seems never a better place to start than Arizona.  The events below have all occurred since the first day of 2012.

ARIZONA: a Maricopa County sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed while answering a burglary call in Phoenix.  The suspect was in his van with his pit bull when he jumped out of the van with his rifle, firing at the deputy, hitting him just below his bulletproof vest.  The officer was married with two young children.  The animal remained calm throughout and was taken to the Sheriff’s no-kill animal shelter.

TENNESSEE: In a Jackson nightclub shooting, one person died and 19 were injured at the Karma Lounge which is downtown.  It happened around 2 a.m. and police think there was more than one shooter using handguns to fire at the crowd.

ARIZONA: At the Forest National Monument near Tucson, some gun freaks used the state-protected Saguaro for target practice, first shooting off the arms then cutting the cactus off at the knees leaving the remains on the ground in the desert.  The BLM wants to ban recreational shooting in the Sonoran desert but the NRA is against it.  Naturally.  A rancher close by says it gets worse every year and fearing for his cattle’s safety, sold all but six of his 120 head.



VIRGINIA: A Dinwiddie Walmart worker shot and wounded his manager, then killed himself.  The 32-year-old shot at police when they approached him with a handgun.  The 40-year-old manager suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Just another kid on his way to school

WASHINGTON: An eight-year-old girl was in critical shape after being shot at her elementary school near Seattle.  A classmate was detained.  The boy, in the third grade, and who apparently shot the girl, was being questioned about a firearm that was found in a classroom. 

ARIZONA: In the Sunshine State, it makes no difference who or what you shoot at, as long as you are shooting.  A $2,500 reward has been offered for any information leading to the capture of the culprits that shot six burros dead just north of Phoenix.  The shootings occurred in the Bureau of Land Management’s Lake Pleasant Herd Management Area.  These animals are protected by law under the wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.

NEW YORK: Samyah Bailey was hit in the face with a bullet meant for someone else in this Staten Island apartment complex.  The 21-month-old child will survive but she has lost an eye.  Apparently some cowboy by the name of Damark King was attempting to settle a score and recklessly fired five rounds in the apartment courtyard.  Several guns were found in the area; Bailey was shot with a 9mm handgun.

NEVADA: This shooting at a Carson City IHOP is just one more example of why a national gun registry is needed.  Authorities are still trying to find out where Eduardo Sencion got the assault weapon from a Chinese company that has been banned since 1994.  Sencion opened fire killing four others before killing himself.  He also had a handgun and another assault rifle in his van; one an AK-47, the other a Romanian Colt .38 revolver.  

With the recent on-going proliferation of shootings throughout the U.S., it will be interesting to see just how long it takes the American public to turn a deaf ear to the garbage spewed by the National Rifle Assn. about how more guns are needed, and come to their senses demanding saner gun control.  Gun control advocates are not going away and there is plenty of recent evidence that we are making headway in our mission.

Partisanship forces Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe out of Congress



Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe



Sen. Olympia Snowe is a Republican moderate who is gravely needed in a Senate that, although barely controlled by Democrats, still has problems with extreme conservatives like Tea Partyers and the religious right.  Susan Collins, another Republican moderate, is her fellow Senator in the state.  She has been serving since 1996, Snowe since 1994.  I am a progressive and wish Snowe would stay and hope Collins will.

What has happened in this country that extremists can literally run out of town the very kind of lawmaker the Congress needs?  Is the U.S. doomed to the kind of mediocrity and incompetence we have experienced from a GOP that has no ideas of its own on how to correct the nation’s problem, but would prefer anyway to just block anything President Obama or the Democrats propose.  It has been ‘say no to anything Obama presents’ from day one of his presidency.



Today's partisanship



Wikipedia says, “Partisanship can be affected by many factors including current events, figureheads (presidents), decisions, and even location.”  Further, “In the United States, the meaning of the term has changed dramatically over the last 50 years.”  In the past an “…individual's partisan tendencies were typically determined from their voting behavior. Since then, "partisan" has come to refer to an individual with a psychological identification with one or the other of the major parties.

Sen. Snowe said in a CNN article, “motivation and sense of responsibility remain.”  Continuing, "I do find it frustrating, however, that an atmosphere of polarization and 'my way or the highway' ideologies has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions."  Speaking no doubt about not only Republicans but also some Democrats.  Another key word, “polarization,” that, defined, is sharp division.

Susan Collins said she was devastated over Snowe’s decision.  Maine’s GOP Chairman Charlie Webster said he knew she was frustrated with “…the lack of civility in Washington,” and went on to describe her as a bridge builder.  Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said, "She's a good, good lady and an example of ... sometimes how the roughness of the political world can affect things. She's great, and she'll be missed by people on both sides of the aisle."

Obviously this puts her seat up for grabs by the Dems. and hopefully they can find someone who can fill Snowe’s shoes.  Snowe said, "I have no doubt I would have won re-election."  I agree, even against a Democrat.  And Texas Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said “…his party remains ‘well-positioned to win back a Senate majority in November.’” 

Yeah, sure.  With the GOP record, they’ll be lucky to avoid Armageddon in November.

And Sen. Snowe is not the only recent example of partisanship clogging the system.  At the Nat’l Governors Assn. meeting in Washington on March 4, President Obama offered, 'We're not going to agree on every single issue,” but, "I'm confident that we're going to be able to find more and more common ground going forward." 

As the Philadelphia Inquirer put it, “An hour after leaving the White House, Republican governors told Obama what he could do with his common ground.”

GOP answer to partisanship

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said, "President Obama is clearly the most liberal president we've had."  Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said, "The president said three years ago that if he couldn't turn this around in three years, then this would be a one-term proposition. Well, Republican governors are deciding it's time to collect. It's time for a new president." 

The Inquirer commented, “…the annual winter meeting of the governors association was a time of bipartisan camaraderie, a respite from politics to discuss ‘best practices’ in the various laboratories of democracy.  But now even this island of cooperation has been flooded by the partisan tsunami.”

Some governors didn’t even show up like Democrat Andrew Cuomo from New York, and Republican Jan Brewer from Arizona.  Other governors just complained or dismissed Obama’s accomplishments like the recent drop in unemployment which McDonnell explained, "it's a couple of months - that doesn't make a trend.” And Jindal, "He has failed when it comes to his tax policy, his spending policy, his borrowing policy, his energy policy, his health policy."

Not once did the GOP bozos mention the fact that the deadlock in Congress for the past three-plus years has been 99 percent the fault of the Republicans.

Lim-burger-baugh supplies latest stink to conservative talk radio



Limburger cheese



Limburger cheese originated in Europe and is known for its pungent odor often compared to body odor.  Rush Limbaugh is a (fill in the word) who originated in the United States, specifically Cape Girardeau, Missouri, who has developed an unmistakable smell doing his radio show over the years that just won’t seem to go away. 

Minnesota Senator Al Franken, then a liberal humorist, had it right when he said: “Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot.”  Although I wouldn’t want to put all of Limbaugh’s listeners in this category—some say they tune in to this bald pinhead for entertainment—but if you are one that takes him serious, you are in trouble.  Some say we should keep him around just to expose extreme-right politics that has brought this country down to a level never before seen.

The Young Turks on the Limbaugh/Fluke incident in the video below:

 

He’s done it again but this time it seems to be more enduring when he called Georgetown student, Sandra Fluke, a “slut” and a “Prostitute.”  She was testifying before Congress that she felt her school’s health insurance should cover contraception for female students.  He apologized, sort of, saying: "I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices."  What he didn’t add was the fact that he is a pathological moron with followers who don’t have a clue.

I did an article on Limbaugh for Phoenix Examiner back in June of 2009, “If Rush Limbaugh says Sotomayor is bad, she must be good,” about how he tried to block Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court.  This was actually his second attempt to stop a Sotomayor appointment; he tried to block her from the 2^nd U.S. Court of Appeals several years ago.  Limbaugh even predicted then that she was on her way to the Supreme Court.

Rush Limbaugh "On the air"

He referred to her as a “reverse racist” and a “hack,” the former due to her statement, “wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.”  I asked a Latina friend how she interpreted this and she told me that, after she had thought about it, she agreed with Sotomayor.

But it was Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem that went for Limbaugh’s jugular in their CNN article, “FCC should clear Limbaugh from airwaves.”  They emphasized the severity of the situation by saying it “was not much worse than his regular broadcast of sexist, racist and homophobic hate speech” as follows:

• “Female Cabinet members are sex-Retaries.”

• “The NAACP should have riot rehearsal.  They should get a liquor store and practice robberies.”

• “The National Organization for Women is a bunch of whores to liberalism”

• “Said to an African-American female caller: ‘Take that bone out of your nose and call me back.’”

The Jane/Robin/Gloria trio says, “Limbaugh doesn't just call people names. He promotes language that deliberately dehumanizes his targets.”  Further, “This isn't political. While we disagree with Limbaugh's politics, what's at stake is the fallout of a society tolerating toxic, hate-inciting speech. For 20 years, Limbaugh has hidden behind the First Amendment, or else claimed he's really ‘doing humor’ or ‘entertainment.’"   

As an example, the talk show host has called women "femi-Nazi," for years.  Other illustrations of Limbaugh degradation are subjects like people of color, lesbians and gays, immigrants, the disabled, the elderly, Muslims, Jews, veterans, environmentalists and more.



Who's a "slut" now?



It could be catching up with the toxic-jock.  I believe the latest is 13 sponsors that have left the show, two radio stations dropping Limbaugh.  The determined trio has challenged his syndicator, Clear Channel Communications, on their plans to support this kind of hate speech which obviously will never change.  However, if the sponsors stand by their decision to drop Limbaugh and more stations do the same based on a loss of revenue, you can’t call it censorship. 

You can also make a complaint to the FCC.  Complaints can be registered under the broadcast category of the FCC website: http://www.fcc.gov/complaints. 

With any luck, the era of Karl Roves and Rush Limbaughs is coming to an end.  Maybe conservatives will finally get the message and start working on talking about issues instead of the ‘we’re against everything progressive” attitude.  But the liberals and moderates will have to do their part too by coming to the table with an open mind.

In the meantime, try some Limburger cheese.  My father loved it.

Michigan gun rights fanatic denigrates recent high school gun massacre

A day in the life of gun violent America

Seventeen year old

T.J. Lane

fired 10 rounds into a group of teenagers in the Chardon, Ohio high school cafeteria, eventually killing three.  Lane didn’t know the people he shot, didn’t even go to Chardon high school; he attended Lake Academy, a school for students with academic or behavioral problems.  Just the day before the shooting, the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article on how legal concealed carry licenses in Ohio had doubled in the past three years.

Now this may have no direct relationship to the Chardon shootings but does point out once again just how many more guns are on the streets of America.  Where did Lane get the gun?  It has been reported that it was his grandfather’s, taken from his barn and

Thomas Lane

did go looking for it after he found it missing.  The next question is why didn’t grampa report it missing?

These are the kinds of questions about gun violence that go unanswered on a daily basis.  Meanwhile, the gun worshipping National Rifle Assn. and its gang of gun nuts go on their merry way, supporting laws to put even more concealed guns in the pockets of yet more gun bubbas.  The reasoning is bizarre. 



CSGV's Josh Horwitz



But Josh Horwitz, Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), takes the dilemma one step further.  He points out the arrogance of the pro-gun movement in his article on Huff Post, “When Buying a Gun Becomes Easier than Voting.”  Along with daily shootings throughout the U.S. and now what seems fairly regular gun massacres like Virginia Tech, Loughner’s Tucson, the Chardon High incident, the gun freaks want to just rub our noses in it.  Here’s the story.

It was only one day after the Chardon High mass shooting, Feb. 28, when Nicholas Looman in Grand Rapids, Michigan, walked into his voting place, also a public elementary school, blatantly carrying a loaded handgun.  Horwitz says, along with placing his vote, “…he also ‘wanted to make a point that he should be allowed to carry’ a gun while voting.”  Looman was asked to leave after voting and that apparently hurt the poor baby’s feelings.  The idiot asked for an apology.

CSGV’s Exec. Dir. comments: “His rights? Let's be clear... The landmark Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment from 2008, District of Columbia v. Heller, found that the right to keep and bear arms is about individuals protecting ‘hearth and home.’ And that there certainly is no right to carry firearms wherever and whenever one wants -- much less at a school or voting site. The idea that there is a right to ‘vote and carry’ would be laughable if it did not expose a dangerous ideology that, if left unchecked, will fundamentally change our democratic system.”

Wow!  That is powerful stuff and helps confirm one of my most serious beliefs that these cowboys do not have the right to walk all over town with their concealed weapons, not even holstered guns that we can see.  I live in Arizona; yes, the loosest gun laws in the country, and our hair brained Governor and GOP legislature are trying to make them even looser. 

Looman would have a field day in this state; not only would they not ask him to leave, they would welcome him and his gun totin’ friends to hang around and discuss setting up a gun show once voting was over.  

Horwitz continues: “Our Founders drafted our Constitution explicitly to prevent force -- or the threat of force -- from influencing the political system. ‘Freedom’ was understood as the ability of the government to abide by the rule of law without interference from an unelected monarch or a frothing mob. In fact, the duty of the Militia, as defined in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, is to ‘suppress Insurrections,’ not to foment them. Carrying a gun into a polling place or a legislative body turns that history on its head by making the statement that ‘The guys with the guns make the rules.’ Our country declared its independence under the banner of political equality. We must have the freedom to exercise our right to vote without being exposed to a show of force by someone who might disagree with us politically. And it's entirely possible that Looman's behavior alarmed and/or intimidated other voters on Tuesday.”

But voting is getting harder, according to Horwitz, with bills introduced in both Virginia state houses that make it harder for people to vote without government-issued identification.  It was called “Old South” and a return to the Jim Crow era by Benjamin Chavis, former director of the NAACP.  Horwitz says:

“And Virginia is not alone... Many GOP-controlled state legislatures across the nation are now moving to implement voter suppression laws before the 2012 elections. Of the eight states that require residents to show photo identification before voting -- Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kansas, Indiana and Wisconsin -- all allow residents to purchase firearms through private sales without undergoing any type of background check or showing any form of identification. These sales are cash and carry, and no paperwork is required. 23 other states require residents to produce some form of identification before voting (though not necessarily a photo ID). Of those 23, only Rhode Island prohibits all private sales of firearms (Connecticut requires background checks for private sales of handguns only). Finally, in a development that may or not be coincidental, some states are now allowing residents to use a concealed handgun permit as an acceptable document to verify identity when voting, but not a student ID card issued by a public university.”

Horwitz finishes: “Seriously, when you can buy a trunk-load of AK-47s without government-issued identification but you can't vote - something is seriously wrong with our democracy.”

Think about it.