Dot Calm's Page of Truth & Sedition: Sit down, strap in, hunker down, and get ready to roll!

With no further ado (and probably some further adon't), on to our top stories!

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We just got an army of people,

and many women who left their kitchens

to go out and go door-to-door

and to put yard signs up for me.

-- John Kasich

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Kasich reminds us all just how misogynistic he is...click on the link to see the video for yourself. Seriously, friends--what century are these people living in? I think they'd all be happier in the 1500s theocracy of their choice. Sharia would be nice--such a close match with their values and grasp of reality.
-- Dot Calm's shadow

Incredibly Sexist Comment At Rally Earns Kasich Some Instant Karma (VIDEO)
February 22, 2016 12:40 pm

Consider this John Kasich’s “Binders full of women” moment: The exact second he reminded the entire country that his views of women are antiquated and misogynistic.

At a campaign stop in Fairfax, Virginia, Kasich was making the pitch to a (nearly empty) room of supporters when he went off script to remark that his success in politics was due to — wait for it — women having the courage to leave the kitchen and come help him get elected.

“We just got an army of people, and many women who left their kitchens to go out and go door-to-door and to put yard signs up for me.”

It was an incredibly daft remark, especially from a candidate who is sitting so low in the polls that he can’t afford to alienate even a single voter much less 50 percent of the country.

Needless to say, the juvenile “women spend their time in the kitchen!” comment was greeted with one of Kasich’s own supporters turning on him. A woman in the crowd aptly summarized the reaction many probably had when she told Kasich:

“First off, I want to say, your comment earlier about the women [who] came out of the kitchen to support you… I’ll come out to support you, but I won’t be coming out of the kitchen.”

A flustered Kasich is left sputtering meekly. His chances, already grim, becoming more remote by the second.

Making things worse, Kasich spent the weekend signing a disgusting bill into law that will go after women’s rights in Ohio. The bill, intended to attack Planned Parenthood, will strip funding for vital procedures like STD testing, cancer screenings, and birth control from women’s health clinics that also perform abortions. And due to the fact that no federal money goes to abortions in the first place, the budget cuts won’t affect abortions, they’ll affect everything else. Just one more way Kasich and his party have found to cause damage to women’s health as part of their fanatical quest to take down Planned Parenthood.

Ironically, Kasich has promoted himself as the moderate choice for the Republican Party. He’s repeatedly argued that America should vote for him over the likes of Trump and Rubio because he isn’t (quite) as crazy. With his views of women’s role in the home (in the kitchen, of course!) and his quest to make it harder for them to receive health care, it’s becoming a laughable premise. Kasich is no moderate, he’s just typically better at hiding his misogyny.

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Jeb Bush

is the side of plain white rice

that nobody ordered.

-- John Oliver

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From The Hill via msn.com:
Secret Anti-Trump Republican
Donor Revealed

© Provided by The Hill
Tough talk on torture is unethical — and dangerous

A single billionaire provided the lion's share of the money to the main Republican super-PAC set up to destroy Donald Trump.

Marlene Ricketts, the matriarch of the Ricketts family that owns the Chicago Cubs baseball team, contributed $3 million to the anti-Trump super-PAC "Our Principles PAC," which is being run by former Mitt Romney adviser Katie Packer.

The super-PAC has spent more than $4 million running attack ads against the GOP front-runner in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. It is the only serious anti-Trump group to date, in a campaign cycle where Republicans have been reluctant to take on their front-runner.

Until now, the identities of the donors funding Our Principles PAC had been kept secret, fueling the rumor mill in Washington. But the Federal Election Commission reveals that almost all the money came from Ricketts. The donor's identity was first reported by The New York Times.

Ricketts' family had previously given $5 million to a super-PAC supporting the failed presidential bid of Scott Walker. The family is yet to swing its full weight behind another presidential candidate, but clearly likes both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. In June last year, Marlene Ricketts gave $10,000 to super-PACs supporting Rubio and Cruz.

Besides a token $250 donation, the only other donor to the anti-Trump super-PAC in January was Illinois businessman Richard Uihlein, who gave just $7,500.

Uihlein had previously given $2.5 million to Walker's super-PAC, but after the Wisconsin governor quit the race he shifted to the Cruz camp and recently gave $1 million to a pro-Cruz super-PAC.

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Hey, Christians--

If God knows everything we will ever do

and every choice we will ever make,

then how can we have "free will"?

If God is omniscient,

then we are just meat puppets

acting out the roles He scripted for us.

All you can really say we have

is the illusion of free will...

we think we are making our own choices,

but God already made them for us long ago.

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According to Christians, the problem with American society isn't poverty, bigotry, hatred, etc. but those uppity women not knowing their place...! My Tea Party Christian friend only marginally disapproves of hitting women, but he was so verbally abusive that he drove two wives to move out of his house, screaming at one of them--a highly educated, gainfully employed professional--that she had never accomplished anything, that she deserved only disrespect, that she deserved more disrespect than he could possibly give her (I guess he was feeling merciful), that she had been her father's property before she married him, that she was his property while she was married to him, and that she reverted to being her father's property after she moved out. She is still running, just like the first one. And he has no idea why. And he definitely agrees with the sentiments offered by the pastor in this article.
-- Dot Calm's shadow

"Christian" Website Offers Tips On "How To Help Women Learn Their Place"

Our society has a problem. No, we’re not talking about poverty, inequality, racism, a possible Trump presidency, or anything like that. According to Christian website Biblical Gender Roles, women just don’t know their place anymore. This website regularly gives Christians helpful information, like that marital rape doesn’t exist because it’s impossible to rape a woman, and a helpful guide on how to punish a woman if she refuses to submit sexually to her husband whenever he wishes. Now, the anonymous author of the popular Christian marital blog wants you to know “how to help women learn their place.”

In his latest example of patriarchial Christofascist ramblings, the author complains that “Women do not know or accept their place in God’s creation anymore.” While most would view a society approaching gender equality as a positive thing, “BGR” — like Arizona pastor Stephen Anderson — yearns for a time when women were all in the kitchen cooking dinner and popping out babies as they serve their husbands’ every desire.

Yes, it’s true — while we have not yet attained complete gender equality, we are inching toward a nightmarish future for this good, Christian man:

“A woman’s place is in the home” is just one of many truths that our society derides and mocks. “to ‘love, honor and obey’” has been stripped from most marriage vows as women no longer believe they must obey their husbands or be in subjection to their husbands as Sarah who called her husband “lord.”

“Feminism has been largely successful in eradicating the femininity that women once had,” he whines. “Churches have for the most part abandoned the practice of teaching Biblical gender roles that God has commanded for men and women.” The author mansplains that women all too often speak out of turn, “showing no deference or respect toward men” and “pursue selfish career ambitions instead of being ambitious for marriage, child bearing and homemaking.”

Boo. F*cking Hoo.

But, he says, there is hope to “turn this around” if Christians teach their daughters “from the Word of God what it truly means to be a woman of God.” Yes, together a team of pastors, parents, and teachers, can teach girls to be subservient to men. In fact, BGR says his daughter has been asking him to put together a guide that she can share with other young girls.

Cherry-picking the Bible, BGR then lists a number of helpful hints for young ladies:

Be meek and humble.
Know your place and shut up.
Only aspire to be a “wife, mother, and homemaker.”
Mind the house and take care of the kids.
Practice “purity” until marriage, and don’t “manipulate men” with your sexuality.
Don’t “defraud” your husband by refusing him sex, unless he agrees to wait a while.
Wear pretty dresses and stuff that “never places” one’s “femininity in doubt.”
Dress “modestly.”
Be “submissive.”
Depend on a man to provide for you.
Know your “place” and exist only to serve your husband-master.
Don’t “nag” your husband or make him feel “ashamed” for being a pompous ass.

While this might seem like an outdated and nonsensical ideology, it is something that is popular among the Republican Party. Recently, Texas lawmaker Jonathan Stickland was busted advising men to rape their wives because “rape is nonexistent in marriage” and they should “take” what they want. This, of course, is related to BGR’s advice in a previous blog post and his remarks about “defrauding”:

But I will say this, despite American laws to the contrary, Biblically speaking, there is no such thing as “marital rape”. In the Scriptures, the only way rape occurs is if a man forces himself on a woman who is not his property (not his wife, or concubine). A man’s wives, his concubines (slave wives taken as captives of war or bought) could be made to have sex with him, no questions asked.

This attitude is shared by many Christian men. Pastor Anderson, for example, has preached that women should not so much as say “Amen” in church because that gives the impression that they matter enough for their opinions to be considered valid. In fact, he longs for the days before women’s rights became a thing:

You say ‘that old fashioned idea, today we have women’s rights. We’ve come a long way, baby.’ And today, ‘those horrible, horrible days when women had no rights’ — let’s bring them back! Let’s get back to those days.

“Why do you think that women were not allowed to vote until the 20th century?” Anderson said in his sermon. “And yet if I get up and say I don’t believe women should vote because if we’re in a democracy, which is ruled by the people, I don’t want to be ruled over by women.”

Sadly, many men are downright frightened at the thought of women being considered equal in society. The prospect of strong, independent women is an anathema to all they stand for. It’s why the Republican Party regularly opposes a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion or obtain birth control. This, in their minds, eliminates one of the primary functions of females in society.

What these backwards-ass f*cks don’t realize is that women are learning their place. No longer will they be relegated to the kitchen, or forced to live as servants. A woman’s place is in the home, the workplace, the cockpit of a fighter jet, the Senate, or even the Oval Office — wherever she wants it to be.

Fortunatelty, men like this are a dying breed, a relic of an age best left in the dumpster of American history. He and his ideological cohorts can complain all they want, but the fact is that they are scared that women are proving themselves to be just as strong and capable as men — when they aren’t shacked by the “old ways,” that is. And BGR and his friends will, of course, fight to their dying breath to keep women subservient.

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John Oliver puts Senate Republicans

in their place on replacing Scalia

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A word from my bud, David Franke: What I Learned from CNN's Town Hall

Carson and Kasich are nice, Rubio and Cruz are slick, and Trump has no substance.
by David Franke • February 19, 2016

The Young Turks / YouTube

I thank CNN and its excellent master of ceremonies, Anderson Cooper, for the two Republican presidential town halls in South Carolina. Wednesday night we had Dr. Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz. Thursday night it was John Kasich, Jeb Bush, and Donald Trump. Each of them had more than a half hour to expound their views, individually, to the audience, and to take questions from the audience.

For the first time, we got to see the GOP candidates, as a whole, not delivering sound bites and talking points in a screaming match, but spending the time to explain their positions in some detail to the audience. They actually came across as more serious and human, less as marionettes being yanked by unseen forces behind the curtain. If you need proof that the Republican Party is a Stupid Party, look at how its presidential debates have harmed the GOP brand.

Bear in mind that I am not talking here about candidates I could actually vote for. To me, war is the paramount issue in a presidential campaign and with presidential candidates. The Republican Party today is a War Party, and its candidates differ only in the degree and consistency with which they support perpetual war in defense of the American Empire. So my observations are those of, say, a visitor from Timbuktu who is intrigued by this American custom of elections every four years, or a sociologist/anthropologist examining his specimens.

The big surprise for me was how this town hall format gave me new respect for two candidates I had completely dismissed beforehand.

Dr. Ben Carson actually came across as a discerning and sensible candidate. It turns out he was not really asleep in the preceding debates, he was just cowed by the debate format. He is obviously disciplined given his abilities as a surgeon, he just is not socially aggressive in the least. If America ever decides that a candidate’s inner character is more important than his political experience, it will consider Dr. Carson. I’m not holding my breath for that day.

John Kasich previously came across to me as too namby-pamby in his demeanor, sort of a Mr. Rogers (who I never could stand even though my young daughter and her friends loved him) in a political neighborhood. Not my taste. But in this expanded format he came across as a thoughtful and compassionate person who somehow happens to be a politician. I liked him. We could do a lot worse. But he, too, has no chance of being nominated.

Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz both came across as convincing possible suspects in a police lineup. Shoot their commercials in black and white—this is film noir for the 21st century. Both are slick debaters and political operatives, too slick for their own good. Marco is the nice guy with the infectious smile, Ted is the heavy, but you don’t trust either one. They both could have committed the crime, and both probably did, but they’re so damn good at throwing suspicion to someone else.
(Even though I was painfully shy in high school, I was a pretty good debater. I learned that almost any position can be defended whether you believe in it or not. That’s why I don’t trust skilled debaters. I know they could just as easily take the opposite position persuasively.)

Jeb Bush. I’ve never voted for a Bush, and never will, but he’s an enigma to me. Back in the heady days of toppling statues of Saddam, I heard a number of conservatives say, “Jeb is the conservative one. Jeb is the smart one. Too bad Karl Rove was W’s brain rather than Jeb’s brain.” After this election cycle, I just don’t know. He’s probably likeable enough in a person-to-person setting, he’s thoughtful, he appeals to the policy wonk in me, but I end up feeling embarrassed for him in a contentious political setting. He remained awkward in the more relaxed town hall format. And I keep wondering: How did he ever become governor of Florida?

Donald Trump. He tried his best to be couth, likeable, somebody you might actually buy a used car from, but it just didn’t work. The problem is that there’s no there there. He deals in bluster and hyperbole, and even in a more leisurely town hall setting he comes across saying nothing of substance. I know, intellectuals don’t make good politicians, but couldn’t he at least have some semblance of coherent thought? Instead all we get is a litany of emotional outbursts and meaningless generalities. He was the only candidate who couldn’t give substantial answers to questions from the audience. And it doesn’t help when the Pope—the Pope!—has dissed you hours beforehand. For the record, I would have been harder on His Holiness than The Donald was.

Two Ways to Decide Who to Vote For
“Who would you most like to have a beer with?”
Maybe Kasich, if he’s not a complete phony about being a regular guy. But none of them, really. Heck, I voted for Obama but his beer guzzling session was as phony as his birth certificate. (That’s a joke, Donald!)

I prefer vodka martinis, Moscow mules, or wine to beer at this stage of my life. I can see comparing wine vintages with Jeb—he’s a Bush, after all—but I wouldn’t trust any of them offering me the harder stuff before they handed me a blank check with their name as beneficiary. Especially Donald. One of the nice things about the two town halls was how Anderson Cooper would end the interviews with some personal questions of the candidates, all in the effort to make them seem like human beings. It turns out Trump insists he does not drink liquor, smoke, or do drugs. I can understand the last two, but I was surprised at the first (though it turns out he has known too many people who have become alcoholics). Somehow I suspect he doesn’t mind closing a deal, however, with someone who has been imbibing during the negotiations.

Which voice do you want coming into your living room, on the tele, for the next four or eight years?
This actually is the deal-breaker for me. One reason I haven’t been able to succumb to virulent anti-Obamaism is that I’ve found his voice to be relatively pleasant—for a President. And especially considering what I had to put up with in the previous eight years.

I fear that these days of relative peace are about to end. Of the current Republican contenders, the two pleasant voices belong to Dr. Carson and John Kasich, and unfortunately America does not select Presidents by their voices or speech patterns. And it gets worse when I look across the aisle—a strident, haranguing windmill versus an old Marxist with diarrhea of the mouth, the kind of guy I used to debate on Union Square. (If you want some real fun, see the Coen brothers movie “Hail, Caesar!” All the Marxist Hollywood screenwriters are clones of Bernie Sanders.)

Final Irony
This is the weirdest election cycle I’ve witnessed in my 60-plus years of observing and commenting on American politics. And one of the most delicious aspects is that the Democratic Party is now represented by two old white people, two boring old white people, while the Republicans are offering a black man, two Latinos, and an Anglo who thinks he’s Latino. Only in America.

David Franke was one of the founders of the conservative movement in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Along the way he has voted for good guys like Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, and (above all) Ron Paul. But he has also voted for Richard Nixon, Ralph Nader, John Kerry, and Hussein Obama. Only in America.

David, I hafta throw my two or three cents in. Carson scares me because he clearly has no grasp on reality. One problem is his strident disbelief of the obvious fact that is evolution. Can you really tell me that, as a DOCTOR, Carson doesn't believe that MRSA (which, last time I looked, was a Very Big Deal in hospital sanitation) exists because drug-resistant micro-organisms don't exist because there's no such thing as evolution? Or who thinks homosexuality is a choice driven by prison time? Do you really want to give control of the Big Red Button to a man who claims that the Egyptian pyramids prove the existence of the Biblical Joseph because they were his grain silos? Can you really trust a man who feels compelled to lie that his youth was MORE violent than it really was so that he could appeal to evangelicals with a FAKE salvation story? I love ya, but I'm calling bullshit on Carson. Then there's Kasich. Of the current crop of Republican crazies, including Dr. Strangesleep, Kasich is the only one who occasionally speaks truth and sanity, which is not to say he doesn't also spout a whole passel of crazy most of the time. For example, he wants to set up a very un-Constitutional Ministry of Christianity to convert unbelievers worldwide. Is that really what you--an atheist--want to spend your tax dollars on? Bigger government AND Christian proselytization? And he just signed a bill to defund Planned Parenthood in Ohio, which means MORE unwanted pregnancies and abortions--just like the Baby Boom And Then Some that Texas wanted so badly and got when they closed all but a scant handful of women's clinics in the state. And he's amazed that "women left their kitchens" to support him. So, I'm calling bullshit on Kasich, too. But I will agree with you that, of the steaming pile that the Get Obama Party has presented us, these two are the least heinous. Not that that's saying much. Oh, and I strongly considered Ron Paul, and I did vote for Nader. I still think Nader is great.
-- Dot Calm's shadow

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Joe corners Fred in a dark alley

late one Saturday night.

Joe says, "Gimme your wallet, or I'll kill you."

Fred replies, "No! I'm not giving you my wallet."

When Joe shoots Fred dead,
would Christians rule it suicide
rather than murder?

Joe TOLD Fred he would kill him.
Suppose Fred didn't believe Joe
(maybe Joe didn't mean his threat)
or maybe Fred thought Joe
didn't really have a gun
(maybe Joe was incapable
of executing his threat).

By Christians' argument, Fred had free will:
he could have given Joe his wallet and lived,
but he chose not to, making his death suicide.

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A Word from ATTN: you're not the only one with horrific student loans

Hi there,

This week, ATTN: released a video interview with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who blasted our nation's federal student loan program, which, according to her, produces billions of dollars in profits from students to help pay down the national debt. Warren called this system of profits from student loan interest rates "obscene," especially compared to financial institutions that borrow federal money at lower interest rates. She told us that this reflects our society's misplaced priorities.
Warren's message is clearly resonating. More than 40,000 people have shared our video with her, and student loan debt is consistently ranked a top tier voting priority for young Americans this election cycle. Disturbingly, more than 11 percent of all student loan borrowers are currently delinquent or in default on payments, which is a drag on our entire economy. You can watch part one of ATTN:'s interview with Sen. Warren here.
Make sure you are registered to vote for the 2016 election here.
Our reporters Nicole Charky and Sarah Gray have been covering the caucuses in Nevada this week. You can follow them on Twitter here and here.

Other stories worth your attention this week:

+ What If We Treated Men Who Want Viagra Like Women Who Need Birth Control?
+ This Tiny Canadian Island Has a Hilarious Plan to Cash in on a Donald Trump Presidency
+ U.S. Marshals Are Arresting People for Unpaid Student Loans
+ Emily Ratajkowski Reveals the Lasting Effect of Being Sexually Shamed at a Young Age
+ Here's Why Women Get Called 'Hysterical' When They're Actually in Pain
+ 6 Chilling Confessions From Death Row Executioners
+ Former Inmates Powerfully Explain How They Ended up in Prison

Talk to you soon,

Matthew

Co-Founder, ATTN:

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Sound logic should be able
to help us discern truth.
Can your logical argument for religion
also be used to prove the exact opposite?
If so, then it can't be a valid argument
for religion.

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Petitions & Donations:
Make Yourself Heard!
Vote with Your Wallet!

Women deserve the same bodily autonomy that men take for granted every day

The passing of Justice Scalia shocked everyone, and while there are many questions to be answered, we have to remain focused on the case set to be heard just 14 days from now—the most important abortion rights case in decades at the Supreme Court.
On March 2, the Supreme Court is still slated to hear oral arguments in a case that will decide whether Texas will be allowed to end abortion access by shutting down the vast majority of clinics across the state.¹
This is the biggest threat to Roe v. Wade in years. And with the court’s vacancy, unless we can get five votes to overturn a lower court decision upholding the Texas clinic-shutdown law, this awful law will stand—to disastrous consequence.
The next 14 days will be an all-out sprint to make our voices heard loud and clear at the Supreme Court.
Will you chip in $15 to show the Supreme Court that we won't stand by quietly and let them roll back Roe v. Wade?
The case is called Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, and it came about because dozens of states have attempted to essentially ban abortion by passing radical anti-abortion clinic-shutdown laws.
These bills force abortion providers to close their doors by imposing any number of unnecessary rules on abortion providers, including things like the size of janitors' closets.²
These TRAP (targeted regulations of abortion providers) laws exist to “trap” abortion providers in a web of ideologically motivated restrictions that have nothing to do with protecting women’s health and safety.
In Texas, as a result of the restrictions already in place, more than half of the abortion providers in the state have been forced to shut down. And unless we can get five votes to overturn a lower court's ruling upholding these laws, there could be just ten clinics left in the entire state of Texas.³
We can't let that happen.
Will you chip in $15 to help sustain our final 14-day sprint to stop the Supreme Court from rolling back Roe v. Wade?
Thank you for helping to make reproductive freedom real for all women.

Ilyse G. Hogue
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America

DONATE NOW

Sources:

1. Supreme Court to Hear Texas Abortion Law Case, The New York Times, November 13, 2015

2. Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers, NARAL Pro-Choice America, accessed February 12, 2016

3. What is HB2?, Texas Policy Evaluation Project, updated August 13, 2015

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Stop Rafael "Ted" Cruz, Jr., from selling off OUR public lands to the highest bidder

Last week, Ted Cruz joined the ranks of Cliven Bundy by launching an ad here in Nevada promising to seize federal lands and sell them to the highest bidder.

We can’t let this attack go unchecked. Pitch in $3 to our rapid response fund and support our campaign to keep public lands public.

There’s a real possibility that Ted Cruz could become our next president.

That’s why we can’t take any chances here in Nevada’s 4th. We must send Republican Congressman Cresent Hardy packing and take back the House.

Contribute $3 before our February fundraising deadline and support our national parks.

Ted Cruz and Cresent Hardy are two peas in a pod on this issue.

Hardy has stood side by side with Cliven Bundy, the leader of the violent crusade to privatize our public lands.

We can’t leave access to our most treasured lands, like Red Rock and Gold Butte, to chance, A.J..

If you care about keeping public lands in public hands, we need you on our team this year.

Thank you,
Team Ruben Kihuen

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Media Amnesia is UNACCEPTABLE: report the facts of Republican obstructionism

Tell major media outlets: Tell the truth about Republican obstruction

Tell CNN, CBS, ABC, FOX, and The New York Times:
“Report the Republicans' pledge to block a Supreme Court nomination for what it is: An unprecedented case of Republican obstructionism and anti-constitutional overreach.”

Add your name:

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Hold the NRA responsible: guns DO kill

tell the NRA and their allies in Congress that you don’t support giving the gun industry a get-out-of-jail-free card when they negligently cause an injury or death.

In 2005, NRA-backed lawmakers exempted the gun industry from almost all liability. That means that family members of gun violence victims have been denied a day in court against gun shops who have sold guns to known gang members and arms manufacturers who have sold firearms without basic safety features.

Gun manufacturers and sellers have more immunity than any other consumer product including toys, pools, knives, and cars. The NRA has spent millions defending this law. With 88 people killed by guns in America every day, why should the gun industry be held to a different standard than pharmaceutical companies and automakers?

Senator Blumenthal and Representative Schiff have introduced legislation to repeal this dangerous law. Tell Majority Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan that you support Senator Blumenthal and Representative Schiff’s efforts to hold the gun industry responsible.

Join Everytown and Daily Kos in telling Majority Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan to repeal this extremist bill and hold the gun industry accountable.

The gun lobby is powerful -- but so are the American people. I know we can win this.

Keep fighting,
Carissa Miller, Daily Kos

Paid for by Everytown for Gun Safety

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Get Big Pharma out of the FDA--don't let Califf the "Pharma Bro" Shkreli clone be the fox that rules the FDA henhouse

Tell the Senate: A vote for Dr. Califf is a vote for Big Pharma

Petition to the United States Senate:
"Oppose the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf as head of the Food and Drug Administration. At a time of rising prescription drug prices and safety risks we need a champion for American families, not an insider so closely tied to the pharmaceutical industry."

Add your name:

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Demand Senate hearings for Obama's nominee to replace Scalia

President Obama—twice elected by the American people—has the constitutional power under Article II to nominate a new Supreme Court justice with the advice and consent of the Senate.

In the last year of President Ronald Reagan’s second term, the Democratic-controlled Senate–including current Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell–unanimously confirmed Justice Anthony Kennedy with a 97-0 vote. In the last year of President Obama’s term, partisan obstruction from Senate Republicans will be an anti-democratic power grab that would violate their duty to the nation. We have to show that the political cost of obstruction will be too high.

Sign the petition from CREDO and Daily Kos: Tell Senate Republican leadership they must hold fair hearings and a timely up or down vote for President Obama’s nominee for Justice Scalia’s replacement on the Supreme Court.

If there’s no replacement for Justice Scalia until the inauguration of the next president, the highest court in the land is effectively hindered for two terms. In the likely event of a 4-4 tie, the lower court’s decision is upheld but is not considered binding precedent. That means that countless important cases–and lives–will remain in limbo if Senate Republicans succeed in their attempt to undermine the Constitution.

Here are just some of the issues before the Court this term:

Whether President Obama has the authority to provide a path to legal status and work permits for people who entered the United States as children, and for the undocumented parents of U.S. citizens.

Whether President Obama’s attempts to curb carbon emissions violate the Clean Air Act.

Whether institutions have the right to use religion as an excuse to deny women birth-control as mandated in the Affordable Care Act.

A case that could decide the future of public sector unions.

Senate Republicans are already making it clear that they are willing to subvert the Constitution in order to have a chance to appoint a justice who opposes women’s health care, sides with corporations over workers, will allow big money to continue to hijack our elections, and more.

We can’t wait while Republicans try to spin a false narrative that their malfeasance is in defense of the will of voters. We need to put as much pressure as possible on Senate leadership now and force them to back down.

Sign the petition.

Keep fighting,
Monique Teal, Daily Kos

Paid for by CREDO

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Can you conceive of an argument
that is so at odds with reality
that faith can't be used in its defense?

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Daily Kos

The media have forgotten who is really blocking President Obama's Supreme Court nomination

Imagine Bernie Sanders wins the White House. Then what?

Florida legal: Man shoots young girl neighbor in her house from homemade gun range

Sign if you agree with Russ Feingold: It's time for a 21st century Glass-Steagall Act

Thanks, FCC! Your cable company will soon have more competition

Ted Cruz promises the military won't offer 'gluten-free' meals under his watch

Charles Koch wrote that he agrees with Bernie Sanders on one thing. Charles Koch is hilarious

Orrin Hatch sees dead Supreme Court justices, and they always agree with him

Duck Dynasty dude opens for Ted Cruz in SC, reads Thomas Jefferson quote, skips slavery part

Idaho Republicans wrote a bill saying schools must use Bible in biology and astronomy and geology

Sign the petition with Everytown telling the NRA and their allies in Congress that you don’t support giving the gun industry special privileges.

How Republicans turned the unprecedented into the new normal

Cartoon: Campaign swag bag

Cartoon: Sunday Talking About Stuff Show

Arkansas high school held anti-gang assembly, required only black students to attend

Study shows police killings may be more about blue on black than black and white

No, Bernie Sanders isn't winning Latinos (yet)

Think Whole Foods is a ripoff? It's worse than you thought

U.S. Attorney General Lynch announces biggest medical fraud bust In DOJ history - 243 arrested

Cartoon: Herr Trump

Where Americans are moving to and from, in one gorgeous chart

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The faith argument
is a non-defense of religion.
If you can claim faith as a defense
of the multitude of things that are untrue,
then why should faith be allowed
as a defense of so-called ultimate truths?
Don't people of all religions
appeal to faith?
Wouldn't that mean
that all faiths are "true"

(despite each loudly claiming
to be the only truth)
and that Christians and Muslims
can't condemn each other and everyone else
to hell
even though both sacred texts
demand their followers do exactly that?

If you accept your own faith as proof

that your religion is true, then you must accept

everyone else's faith that their religions are true.

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AlterNet