VOTE FOR BERNIE!!!!! VOTE FOR BERNIE!!!!!

Greetings, Dot Calm Readers
and fellow Truth Crusaders!

I'm b-a-a-a-a-a-a-ck!

Not up to full steam (yet), but I R here.

I missed youse guys too much not to blawg this week, even tho I R still behind the 8-ball.

Ah well.

Hope all's well with you and yours!

Whatever you do, take care of you!

Also, don't forget to read Dot Calm's shadow's favorite independent sources of news and information:

Daily Kos
AlterNet
Democracy Now!
Conservatives are Destroying our Future
Conservative Clown Car
Americans Against the Republican Party
Americans Against the Tea Party
Mrs. Betty Bowers
God, the Good Lord Above

...And, whatever you do,

VOTE BERNIE!!!!!

If at all possible, send him a buck o' five.
And now...get ready for todaze dose of infotainment cuz here it comes.

- Dot Calm's shadow

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Je suis Brussels

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Republicans like my Tea Party friend

shit elephants at the thought

of some corporate workers

making an exorbitant

minimum of $10 an hour.

Those same Republicans

think other corporate workers

deserve their paltry

$10,000 an hour...

or $80,000 a day...

nearly 4x what a $10/hr worker

makes all year.

NO ONE is worth that much

unless he or she literally shits gold bricks.

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The Supreme Court is hearing AGAIN from religious people who insist on denying women access to prescription medications.

This time, it's the nuns of Little Sisters of the Poor, who adore letting the poor suffer because their founder, "Mother" Teresa, celebrated suffering for bringing sufferers closer to God (except her--she used donations to provide herself with the best of everything, including Western medicine).

The Catholic Church has no business making Monster Teresa a saint.

I guess the nuns' closely held religious belief is that migraines, polycystic ovaries, and other non-contraceptive-related maladies for which doctors routinely prescribe "the pill" are inherently sins.

The Catholic Church has long taught that women must be punished with babies for having sex, which is a sin for women but not for men, especially if those men are priests raping children. Perhaps it's not so much of a stretch for the Church to enjoy punishing women just for not being men.

I'd like to know whether Hobby Lobby and other Catholic employers are equally intent on withholding boner pills from men, since the only medical purpose of boner pills is to enable men to have sex.

How much you wanna bet that these Catholic employers are totally down with paying for men to have all the boner pills they want, free of cost and covered by employer-paid health insurance?

Betting opens...now.

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My Tea Party friend gets his panties in a bunch

because the poor corporations pay 38% in taxes.

By the time you add up

state and federal income and sales taxes,

so does he.

Why does he think that billionaires

should pay less in taxes

than he does?

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Corporate profit went up 166% under Obama.

At 38%, corporate tax rates did NOT go up

166% under Obama.

Corporate profits far outpaced taxes...

corporations enjoy record profits

under Obama, as indicated by

record stock performance.

So...

why does my Tea Party friend

think corporations are starving

and minimum-wage workers are

getting fat and living high on the hog?

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My sincerely-held religious belief is veganism.

Therefore, my employees are forbidden to use the salary I pay them to buy meat, leather, wool, and all other animal products.

I forbid my employees' health insurance from covering Premarin (which is made from pregnant mare's urine), Armour thyroid (which is made from pig thyroid), VACCINES (which are made from animal serum and eggs), and all other medicines and treatments derived from animal products.

It-snot enough that I won't pay for those items: I fully intend to deny my employees' access to those items. My freedom of religion trumps their freedom as consumers to make use of their salaries and benefits as they need or as they choose.

Maybe I'm for real, or maybe I just want to cheap out on the health insurance I provide my employees.

But with Hobby Lobby and the religious non-profits jumping through their own assholes to deny women their rightful prescription medicines under Obamacare through the Supreme Court, who's to know, and what's to stop me?

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Why does my Tea Party friend think it's ok

for corporations to be so greedy

that they refuse to pay taxes OR wages?

Why does my Tea Party friend think

corporations are entitled to insist

on a free ride at his expense?

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This is too good not to run again....

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Arizona Democrats Show Up In Record Numbers, Told They’re Registered Republicans

Some Arizona Democrats Report Being Unable To Vote Due To Inaccurate Party Registration

Democrats in Maricopa County Arizona have reported being unable to vote after being told at the polls that they were registered as Independents, Republicans, or Libertarians. The Democrats hold a closed primary in Arizona, meaning registered Independents can’t vote for a Democratic candidate.

A party spokesperson said more than 20 voters had called, and that the Arizona Democratic Party is investigating the matter.

“We’ve been getting calls all day from lifelong Democrats who have been registered as independents,” said Enrique Gutierrez, communications director for the Arizona Democratic Party. “One woman even said she’d been registered as a Libertarian.”

According to 12 News Arizona, poll workers have been giving those mis-registered voters provisional ballots. These ballots, however, are far from an ideal solution. A 2004 analysis by Douglas W. Jones highlights the ways provisional ballots are misused by poll workers:

“Unfortunately, there are many states where a provisional ballot can only be counted if it is cast in the right precinct. In those states, giving out provisional ballot will disenfranchise voters who are at the wrong precinct. At their worst, provisional ballots therefore become a way to brush off troublesome voters by letting them think they have voted.”

The timely response by the Arizona Democratic Party should put voters at ease if this is indeed a case of mishandling registrant information. The number of provisional ballots filed out could, however, affect the immediate outcome of the state’s primary race—provisional ballots aren’t counted until much later, following the verification of the presumptive voter’s identification and party affiliation.

Record Turnout In Maricopa County

The mix-up comes amidst a record turnout in Maricopa Country. Adding to the problem, fewer polling stations are operating this year after the County Recorder’s Office cut the number of locations by 70 percent.

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Why does my Tea Party friend

think that corporations deserve

free government hand-outs

by the billion$

but working class people

deserve only to starve?

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My closely-held religious belief is that my employees do not deserve to be mollycoddled for destroying their own health.

Let's call it a "tough love" religion, just like evangelical Christianity, which should have the motto, "Pick yourself up by your own goddamn bootstraps or die."

If my employees end up with heart disease, it's because they eat too much meat and don't exercise enough. No heart medicine for you!

If they come down with diabetes, it's because they are gluttons and don't exercise. No diabetes medicine for you!

With Hobby Lobby and the religious non-profits jumping through their own assholes to deny women their rightful prescription medicines under Obamacare through the Supreme Court, who's to know whether I really am sincere, and what's to stop me if I'm not?

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Why does my Tea Party Christian friend

think it's great that corporations don't

want to pay taxes OR wages?

Why does he think he should subsidize

corporations by paying for food stamps?
Those rich corporate phuquers
can afford to pay their workers a living wage...
they're just too greedy to.
And my poor TPC friend is just their useful idiot.

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Obama Uses Ted Cruz’s Own Father To Prove Cruz Is A Morally Reprehensible Bigot (VIDEO)

March 23, 2016 1:35 pm ·

President Obama was in Argentina following his historic visit to Cuba, and it’s clear that even thousands of miles away, he really cannot stand Ted Cruz. When asked about the Republican candidate’s appalling calls to “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods” during a news conference, Obama unloaded on the Texas senator.

While Obama was busy in Cuba, Cruz and his fellow Republicans seized upon recent terror attacks in Brussels to promote their ugly anti-Muslim policy positions, which include such “enlightened” stances as “build a wall” and “ban Muslims” and, now, unconstitutionally surveil innocent American Muslims. Everyone from terrorism experts to the NYPD have condemned Cruz’s remarks as unrealistic, morally abhorrent, and giving ISIS just what they want.

Obama noticed another sick irony to Cruz’s rush towards discrimination: His own family history.

“As far as the notion of having surveillance of neighborhoods with a Muslim presence, I just left a country [Cuba] that engages in that kind of neighborhood surveillance. Which, by the way, the father of Senator Cruz escaped for America, the land of the free…”

The reality check must sting Cruz particularly hard because he’s been deeply critical of Obama’s softening stance towards Cuba. The basis of that criticism has always been that Cuba violates human rights by persecuting dissidents and perceived threats to its government. Cruz, being a well-known and unapologetic hypocrite, seems to have no problem with engaging in those very same undemocratic tactics as long as it’s against people he personally doesn’t like.

Obama summarized Cruz’s sickening vision of America’s future by concluding that “the notion that we would start down that slippery slope makes absolutely no sense.”

If there is any silver lining in Cruz’s bold advocacy for institutional discrimination against Muslims, it’s that it shows Americans just how radical his worldview really is. Even as “moderate” Republicans like Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush encourage voters to support Cruz to defeat Trump, we are reminded that there are not really a lesser of two evils option here. Both Cruz and Trump have staked their political campaigns on bigotry and unconstitutional attacks against groups they don’t like. Neither has any place in the White House.

See the original article for the video. 
- Dot Calm's shadow

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If corporations paid their workers

living wages,

they wouldn't have to pay so much in taxes.

If corporations paid their workers

living wages,

my Tea Party friend

would not have to subsidize

corporate profits with his own taxes.

It-snot rocket surgery...

why can't he connect the dots,

la-la-la-la-la?

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Voter Suppression Rocks Arizona: Maricopa County Closes 85 Percent Of Polling Stations

As it turns out, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder isn’t the only person in government who’s staggering error in judgment seeking to cut costs has resulted in a foul-up so anger-inducing that WTFs are flying across social media almost as frequently as Donald Trump insults.

According to CNN, “Liberal activists are demanding an investigation into what they see as possible voter suppression as a result of Maricopa County officials’ decision to reduce the number of polling stations” from 200, all the way down to 60, in an effort to allegedly “cut costs.”

Those activists watchdogging the primary vote in the Grand Canyon State are holding a press conference Wednesday where they intend to point out how the exceptionally long lines, as a result of the reduction in polling places, caused some to give up their vote and go on home, or back to work. Others had to give up an entire day of work while waiting in line to cast their vote, as U.S. Uncut reports. Many, no doubt, considered walking away several times, but pushed themselves to persevere. One man, as reported on NPR, even ordered a pizza for dinner while in line, he had to stand there so long.

Not being one to listen to valid criticism, however, Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell (R) defended the county’s decision to close more than half the polling locations in the county, arguing that “voters could have voted via early ballots rather than risking waiting in line.” County officials claim there had been less demand for polling places due to voters casting their votes by mail in past years.

Okay, sure… maybe—but by 85 percent?

Purcell stated:

‘They’re not to blame for standing in line. But they went to the polling places. They could have voted early or that was their option in this instance. I don’t mean to blame voters. I think it’s wonderful voters went to the polls.’

Purcell went on to state that polling stations that were closed this year were selected for closure due to “high mail-in ballot returns” in the past.

Okay, once again… sure—but by 85 percent? Did 85 percent of voters in those districts mail in their votes in past years? That seems incredibly unlikely.

The point, however, regardless, is to give voters as many options as possible to make voting as accessible as possible. Pushing one method while shutting down more than half of another is not the kind of “help” voters need to get their votes in. If cutting costs is all that seems to matter in this country, why not move voting entirely online and allow folks to do it from home? Make it a national holiday so folks can make a day of it and get involved in the patriotic duty of their country.

Of course, most of us know the reasons why that’s not happening, nor will it anytime soon.

Not only did the polls drop from the 200 polling stations used in the 2012 election down to 60, Tuesday, but that 200 was already a reduction by half compared to the 400 that were available to voters in the 2008 election.

Even if one wishes to give Purcell’s argument the benefit of the doubt, when compared over the last eight years, the Maricopa County Recorder’s defense  of the reduction in polling places gets tougher and tougher to swallow. Polling places have been reduced by 85 percent in Maricopa County since President Obama was elected. It doesn’t take Velma or a box of Scooby Snacks to see something doesn’t look quite right there.

Bernie Sanders supporter and Arizona State Sen. Martin Quezada (D) tweeted regarding the polling shortage fiasco:

‘If U are standing in very long line to cast your ballot today, this is what @AZGOP’s claimed imaginary voter suppression looks like #AZVotes.’

Meanwhile, the Arizona Democratic Party is requesting any democratic voters who experienced issues at the polls to fill out a form online explaining what occurred. All information collected is intended to be given to Arizona’s Secretary of State, Michele Reagan (R).

Those outspoken on the issue of decreased polling stations claim the stark reduction “left some residents completely lacking any or only one polling location in their neighborhood.”

One post on Arizona Black Voter Alliances’ Facebook page states:

‘Voting is a right not a privilege—it should be fair and accessible to all our people.’

Of course, this issue didn’t irk Democrats alone. Republicans were forced to wait in long lines, too. According to “the state’s largest paper,” the Arizona Republic, voters “waited in line more than five hours to vote in an election with high stakes for their country.”

The Republic also pointed out that Pima County, Arizona, only has a quarter of the registered voters as Maricopa County, but had more than twice the number of polling stations open, operating 130 locations, Tuesday.

“That led to ease of voting in the southern part of our state, and disaster in urban Phoenix,” the Republic’s editorial board writes.

Thankfully, Purcell claims she is open to re-evaluating the choice to reduce polling locations by so great a number in Maricopa County. She stated:

‘We will certainly look at this and see if we need to do something different.’

Great! That hardly helps anyone this election, though, now does it?

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Dot Calm, this two-fer is for you:

 

 

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If you're an American Christian,

greed is a virtue;

poverty is a crime.

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Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day.

Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for life.

Give a man religion,

and he'll die praying for a fish.

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The party of Christian morality and family values is at it again...

Alabama Abuzz After Scandal-Tarred Top Cop Says He Has Proof Of Guv's Affair

 

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My music theory teacher was a Christian.

He spent most of the semester

loudly claiming that,

as a theory,

music is just some half-baked notion

that doesn't actually happen.

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One of my control theory professors

was a Christian.

He spent most of the semester loudly claiming

that systems (like cars and air conditioners)

and controls (like brakes and thermostats)

are just half-baked notions

that don't exist.

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Movie time!
Here's a double feature for my favorite creatures!

Historian Dr. Richard Carrier on Christianity without Jesus (happy Easter to my atheist peeps, lol):

DarkMatter2525's if God played Minecraft: