Not All Who Wonder Are Lost

How many predominately liberal states filed for secession when Bush was reelected?

When Hurricane Sandy devastated multiple states, leaving many people displaced, without power and/or water, did Obama feel that it was more important to eat some birthday cake and have a jam session than do anything to help them?

Have democrats ever trumped up a non-problem in a deliberate and admitted attempt to suppress democratic voters?

Twice?

Has MSNBC ever fought a lawsuit claiming that they have a constitutional right to lie to their viewers?

Has an extremely influential liberal pundit ever spent three days attacking a private citizen, distorting her testimony, blatantly ignoring scientific fact, slut shaming her and demanding that she post sex tapes online?

If so, did President Obama respond to the controversy by saying that he was okay with the harassing, lying and demands of porn, but thought that actually calling her a slut was a tad much?

While campaigning against Hillary, did an Obama supporter ask him “how do we beat the bitch?” to which Obama responded by laughing and then saying “That’s an excellent question!”

When MSNBC covered the story, did they cut Obama’s reaction and claim that he quickly changed the subject?

Did a room full of democrats ever boo a soldier serving active duty in Afghanistan while a dais of democratic presidential candidates kept on smiling?

Has an influential liberal pundit ever called Mitt Romney a retard?

And was there only silence from the liberal leader well known for bashing conservatives for using that word?

Did that same liberal somehow manage to paint herself as the injured party after a shooting spree that killed six and wounded thirteen, including the shooter’s target, a conservative congresswoman?

In doing so, did she re-appropriate a term that has been used against Jews for centuries, and caused the death of who knows how many millions of Jews, which is especially gross as the conservative congresswoman is Jewish?

Did a democratic presidential candidate ever enact anti-gay rules for her school district that led to nine teens’ suicides?

Have so many democrats made disgusting comments about rape that a conservative launched a website counting how many days they could go without making a horrible statement about rape?

Did 42 senate democrats ever vote against a bill that would help veterans, the people they claim to love the most, get back to work, merely because that bill passing might help Obama get reelected?

Or one that would help two million Americans find work?

Or how about one that would give health care and medical compensation to 9/11 first responders?

Has the democratic party spent the last forty years fighting against adding a constitutional amendment that would bar employers from discriminating against employees based on sex?

Or more currently, did almost every democrat vote against a bill that would help women fight gender discrimination.

Was this issue so trivial to the democratic party that President Obama didn’t even know what it was?

Did democrats refuse to renew a bill designed to help victims of domestic violence if it also protected LGBTs and undocumented workers?

Did Joe Biden ever sponsor a bill that would allow doctors to refuse to give women life saving abortions?

Do liberals support doctors outright lying to their pregnant patients?

Or require them to?

Did a democrat once claim that forcing women to resort to extremely dangerous and often fatal back alley abortions is the only moral thing to do?

Did senate democrats basically give a big “fuck you” to Black men and women who were forcibly sterilized by the state?

Did Michigan democrats ban a republican representative because she said the scientific name for a female reproductive organ while discussing a bill legislating female reproductive organs?

Or express outrag and disgust when a conservative mentioned that birth control can help women with menstrual issues while discussing a bill about birth control, which can help women with menstrual issues?

(Source: legally-bitchtastic)

justinspoliticalcorner:

When the Senate passed the long-delayed $50.5 billion Hurricane Sandy relief package Monday, 36 Republicans voted against the bill. But of the 32 no-votes from Senators who are not brand-new members, at least 31 came from Republicans who had previously supported emergency aid efforts following disasters in their own states.

Most incredible among the no voters were Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Pat Toomey (R-PA). Those two had not just backed disaster aid in the past — they actually sought disaster aid for their own states for relief from Hurricane Sandy. And Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) endorsed disaster relief for snow storms damages in Arkansas just four days before casting his “nay” vote.

The “hypocritical” list includes:

1. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH): Requested disaster aid after Hurricane Sandy.
2. John Barrasso (R-WY), Republican Policy Committee Chair: Requested disaster aid after flooding.
3. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Republican Conference Vice Chair: Demanded the Senate be called back from recess to pass disaster aid during a drought and boasts: “When a disaster surpasses the ability of states and communities to rebuild, Senator Blunt believes the federal government should prioritize spending to help the people whose lives and livelihoods are impacted. During his time in the Senate, he has fought tirelessly to ensure that Missouri gets its fair share of those federal resources specifically dedicated to disaster recovery.”
4. John Boozman (R-AR): Requested disaster aid after snow storms in January 2013.
5. Richard Burr (R-NC): Requested disaster aid after severe storms.
6. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA): Requested disaster aid after flooding.
7. Dan Coats (R-IN): Requested disaster aid after tornadoes.
8. Tom Coburn (R-OK): Requested disaster aid after winter storms and for extreme drought.
9. Bob Corker (R-TN): Requested disaster aid after flooding and asked for supplemental emergency flood relief.
10. John Cornyn (R-TX), Republican Minority Whip: Demanded drought relief aid and requested disaster aid for wildfires.
11. Mike Crapo (R-ID): Boasted of obtaining a FEMA fire safety grant and pushed for a bill providing emergency drought relief.
12. Mike Enzi (R-WY): Requested disaster relief after flooding.
13. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): Requested disaster relief after freezing and boasted of obtaining emergency drought relief.
14. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): Requested disaster relief after severe hail storms.
15. Orrin Hatch (R-UT): Requested disaster relief after flooding.
16. James Inhofe (R-OK): Boasted of obtaining disaster relief after severe storms and drought.
17. Johnny Isakson (R-GA): Requested disaster aid after flooding.
18. Mike Johanns (R-NE): Requested disaster relief after flooding and blasted Democrats for “inaction on disaster relief” for drought and wildfires.
19. Ron Johnson (R-WI): Requested disaster relief after a blizzard.
20. Mark Kirk (R-IL): Appealed after FEMA denied assistance following severe storms and tornadoes.
21. Mike Lee (R-UT): After calling federal disaster relief unconstitutional, endorsed relief aid after flooding in Utah.
22. John McCain (R-AZ): Endorsed disaster relief after flooding.
23. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Republican Minority Leader: Requested disaster relief during a drought and after tornadoes.
24. Jerry Moran (R-KS): Requested disaster relief after tornadoes.
25. Rand Paul (R-KY): Requested disaster relief during a drought and after tornadoes.
26. Rob Portman (R-OH): Endorsed disaster relief during a drought and after storms.
27. Pat Roberts (R-KS): Boasted of obtaining disaster relief after drought and wildfires and criticized the Bush administration for inadequate emergency relief after a blizzard.
28. Marco Rubio (R-FL): Requested disaster relief after severe freezing.
29. Jeff Sessions (R-AL): Requested disaster relief after tornadoes and during a drought.
30. John Thune (R-SD), Republican Conference Chair: Requested disaster relief after flooding and snow storms.
31. Pat Toomey (R-PA): Requested disaster relief for Hurricane Sandy before it even hit landfall.

Not one of the opponents has co-sponsored Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-NV) “Extreme Weather Prevention and Resilience Act” which would encourage Congress to “prepare and protect communities from extreme weather, sea-level rise, drought, flooding, wildfire, and other changing conditions exacerbated by carbon pollution” and “reducing pollution, promoting the use of clean energy sources, and improving energy efficiency.”

ThinkProgrss previously reported that at least 37 House Republicans who opposed Sandy relief had also supported disaster aid for their home states.

Vote all these morons out in 2014, 2016, or 2018!

h/t: Josh Israel at ThinkProgress Economy

shortformblog:

PFC Manning has offered to plead guilty to various offenses through a process known as “pleading by exceptions and substitutions.”  To clarify, PFC Manning is not pleading guilty to the specifications as charged by the Government.  Rather, PFC Manning is attempting to accept responsibility for offenses that are encapsulated within, or are a subset of, the charged offenses.  The Court will consider whether this is a permissible plea.

PFC Manning is not submitting a plea as part of an agreement or deal with the Government.  Further, the Government does not need to agree to PFC Manning’s plea; the Court simply has to determine that the plea is legally permissible.  If the Court allows PFC Manning to plead guilty by exceptions and substitutions, the Government may still elect to prove up the charged offenses.  Pleading by exceptions and substitutions, in other words, does not change the offenses with which PFC Manning has been charged and for which he is scheduled to stand trial.

PFC Manning has also provided notice of his forum selection.  He has elected to be tried by Military Judge alone.

The Guardian simplifies the point: “By taking this legal route, Manning is not pleading guilty to any of the 22 charges brought against him, and nor is he making a plea bargain. He is asking the court to rule on whether his plea accepting limited responsibility is admissible in the case.”