"I don't often get to write to you on the heels of a thrilling, public victory. FRC's strategic team and your prayers and financial support won the day! Yesterday afternoon, the Senate voted down the Defense Authorization Bill -- with its candy box of treats for radical liberals. The outrageous amendments to the bill included repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell and turning every military installation into an abortion clinic. This is a victory for the men and women who serve our nation in uniform--at least for now they will not be used to advance a radical social agenda. The Wall Street Journal credited FRC with '[leading] the opposition to a repeal.'"Friends, FRC needs your renewed support urgently. FRC's fiscal year closes on September 30. This is a critical milestone for us, because our financial status at the end of the fiscal year will determine how much we can grow and accomplish in the next year. We have $1.1 million remaining to raise. It's important for you to know that FRC doesn't spend what we don't have. We have very conservative financial management. We won't go into debt in order to fight pivotal battles like Don't Ask, Don't Tell. We don't have any endowment or large reserves. Together, we can accomplish more victories like today's win in the Senate. Donate today!" - Family Research Council head bigot Tony Perkins, getting happy with the Lord over crushing the civil rights of fellow Americans.
The rhetoric of House Republicans is that they have been working to help create small business jobs and save American jobs, yet their record has been the opposite. For example, just this Congress, House Republicans have:Voted against closing tax loopholes that encourage companies to ship jobs overseas five times even as millions of jobless Americans are looking for work.The truth about the Congressional Republican agenda is that it is designed to save jobs overseas, not here at home. On Thursday, House Republicans will likely again oppose the Small Business Lending and Jobs Bill, adding to their long record of voting against American workers and small businesses.
Voted against seven of eight small business tax cuts that have been enacted into law.
Some conservative members of the Texas Board of Education assert that the history books used in this state have a pro-Islamic bias, and they are upset about it.Never shy about wading into the culture wars, they are planning to vote Friday for a resolution that would send a blunt message to textbook publishers: Do not present a pro-Islamic, anti-Christian version of history if you want to sell books in one of the nation's largest markets.
At some point, Texas schoolbooks are going to be nothing but the Old Testament, a history of the Alamo, and a section on Reagan.
The GOP has released their new "Pledge for America," and surprising no one, it looks like the prescription for the future is tax cuts, missile defense, gay-bashing and fetus worship, and investigating ACORN the White House.
Fun fact: The "Pledge to America" was written with oversight from Brian Wild, a House staffer who "served as a lobbyist for some of the nation's most powerful oil, pharmaceutical, and insurance companies." Wild, who is on House Minority Leader John Boehner's payroll, lobbied for AIG, Exxon Mobil, Pfizer Inc., and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce until April of this year.
Blue Girl's take on the pledge.
###
No Shit. Now what? "Israel's military broke international laws during a raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, a UN Human Rights Council investigation says. Its report said the action by commandoes, which left nine dead, was "disproportionate" and "betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality". It said there was clear evidence to support prosecutions against Israel for "wilful killing". Israel insists its soldiers acted in self-defence during the 31 May raid. Nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed and many others injured after Israeli commandoes boarded the six-ship convoy as it tried to breach an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza."
###
Austin DeCoster has a decades-long history of poisoning people with tainted eggs "On a July night in 1987, scores of elderly and chronically ill patients at Bird S. Coler Memorial Hospital in New York City began to fall violently sick with food poisoning from eggs tainted with salmonella. ... "It was like a war zone," said Dr. Philippe Tassy, the doctor on call as the sickness started to rage through the hospital. By the time the outbreak ended more than two weeks later, nine people had died and about 500 people had become sick. It remains the deadliest outbreak in this country attributed to eggs infected with the bacteria known as Salmonella enteritidis. ... This year, the same bacteria sickened thousands of people nationwide and led to the recall of half a billion eggs. ... Despite the gap of decades, there is a crucial link between the two outbreaks: in both cases, the eggs came from farms owned by Austin J. DeCoster."
Seriously. This DeCoster fella is the scum of the earth and needs to go to prison for the rest of his life. "An Iowa egg producer at the center of a nationwide outbreak of salmonella apologized to a Congressional panel on Wednesday and admitted that his family operation "got big quite a while before we stopped acting like we were small." ... Mr. DeCoster's company, Wright County Egg, and another company, Hillandale Farms, recalled more than 500 million eggs last month after health officials traced salmonella bacteria that sickened more than 1,500 people to those companies. ... A subsequent inspection by the Food and Drug Administration found that the barns of the egg producers were infested with flies, maggots and rodents, and had overflowing manure pits. Records unearthed by Congressional investigators showed that tests of Wright County Egg barns had shown the presence of toxic salmonella bacteria for years prior to the outbreak. ... "We were horrified to learn that our eggs may have made people sick," Mr. DeCoster, who is known as Jack, said in a shaky voice. "We apologize to everyone who may have been sickened by eating our eggs." ... The egg producer's frequent run-ins with regulators over labor, environmental and immigration violations at his operations have been well documented..."
How come no one feels sorry for the chickens?
###
You want DADT repealed and the DREAM Act passed? Then start telling everybody you know the truth about the defense bill republicans killed yesterday.
When John McCain led the filibuster of the Defense Appropriations Act yesterday, he blocked far more than the DREAM Act and repeal of DADT. Here are just a few of the other blocked provisions, courtesy of Mother Jones.* No permanent military bases in Afghanistan.
* Report identifying hybrid or electric propulsion systems and other fuel-saving technologies for incorporation into tactical motor vehicles.
* Protection of child custody arrangements for parents who are members of the Armed Forces deployed in support of a contingency operation.
* Improvements to Department of Defense domestic violence programs.
* Department of Defense recognition of spouses of members of the Armed Forces.
* Department of Defense recognition of children of members of the Armed Forces.
* Enhancements to the Troops-to-Teachers Program.
* Fiscal year 2011 increase in military basic pay.SNIP
What did they gain with their filibuster? Traction with so-called values voters? They didn't have any problem with them anyway. Denying the Democrats a victory over a 17-year old self-inflicted wound? Making a stand against children of immigrants? What big, brave people they are. Do they seriously think there are no gay Republicans? As one of my Twitter friends remarked earlier, if Ken Mehlman couldn't convince them, no one could.
This was a mean-spirited, cut-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face exercise in homophobic politics and it's ugly, especially with John McCain leading the charge. The same John McCain, by the way, who said all he needed was for the leadership of the military to come and say the policy should change. And so, they did. Even after testimony from the joint chiefs of staff, McCain didn't adhere to his own conditions for cynical, self-serving political reasons.
Not so long ago, legislators who voted against defense bills - even for good, substantial reasons rather than closet-queen fear and petulance - got run out of Congress on a rail.
Republicans blocked funding for the troops. Repeat it every time the conversation turns to the election:
Republicans blocked funding for the troops. Vote Democratic.
###
h/t Dick: Take the Money and Make More - The rich are different from us; they have worse taste.
