2015 - Page 70 of 102

GOP Governors Take Obamacare Dollars While Publicly Condemning the Program

April 6, 2015 Buck Banks

$352 million

Amount that governors Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Chris Christie of New Jersey, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and former Texas Governor Rick Perry — all staunch opponents of President Barack Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act — have collectively applied for and won through grant programs set up by the law, federal records show, Reuters reports.“The action is at odds with the public stance of all four potential candidates, who have blasted the law as an unprecedented expansion of government and called for its repeal.”

Sorry, Christians – Under Religious Freedom Laws, the Bible Also Requires You to Refuse Service to Adulterers

April 4, 2015April 4, 2015 Jon Ponder

art-confederate-gay-married Public outrage over the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts that have passed in 21 states, so far, appears to be the latest sign of a massive shift toward support for gay civil rights. It also suggests people looked past Republican rhetoric and saw these laws for what they’re really meant to be — licenses for right-wing Christians to discriminate against gays, particularly Christians in the wedding business who want to refuse to bake cakes and provide floral arrangements for same-sex weddings based on moral grounds.

It is not only petty to withhold wedding flowers and cakes from a particular class of sinners, it is also unlawful on its face. RFRAs not only violate public-accommodation laws and would arguably be unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause, their use of religion to single out a particular class of people runs afoul of the separation of church and state — the legal barrier that prevents our democratic republic from sliding into theocracy. It’s as un-American to discriminate against gays based on the Old Testament as it would be to restrict gay rights based on Sharia law, for example.

[…]

Celebrate Holy Week by flogging your bankers — just as Jesus did

March 31, 2015March 31, 2015 Jon Ponder

grafix-flog-a-banker-week

Lindsey’s Iowa Whimsy

March 30, 2015 Buck Banks

Lindsey Graham’s a GOP-er from down in South Carolina,
But he sees a clear path forward in white-bread Iowa,
And in all fairness,
The question of his gayness,
Likely won’t come up as long as he steers clear of homophobic Indiana.

Dr. Democrat: Don’t Be Fooled by Phony Hillary Email Scandal

March 30, 2015March 31, 2015 Dr. Democrat

doctordemocrat2 Dear Dr. Democrat:

In light of this CNN story, which Republican or tea partier do you think will be our next president? Because it damn sure won’t be a Democrat.

Discouraged in Destin

Dear Discouraged:

Don’t be!

Honestly, truly, sincerely, this is nothing. Less than nothing.

Karl Rove wiped 22 million emails in the middle of the U.S. Attorney scandal and the Valerie Plame criminal investigation. Nothing happened to him — in fact, it was barely even a scandal at the time. This is all smoke and mirrors by the GOP. I’ll admit it’s working, but there’s absolutely no “there” there.

[…]

Republicans Say Obama Is a Bigger Threat to U.S. Than Putin

March 30, 2015 Buck Banks

34%

Of Republicans called President Obama an imminent threat to the United States, versus 25% who ranked Russian President Vladimir Putin and 23% who viewed Syrian President Bashar al-Assed as that dangerous, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Fiorina Almost Certain to Run for President

March 30, 2015 Buck Banks

90%

The likelihood that Carly Fiorina will enter the GOP presidential race, “with her announcement coming in April or May,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Huckabee Claims His Support Goes Beyond Evangelicals

March 30, 2015 Buck Banks

My base is really beyond just evangelicals. I think the untold secret is a lot of the support that I have, and that I anticipate I will have, is from the working-class, blue-collar people who grew up a lot like I did – not blue-blood, but blue-collar.

— Mike Huckabee, quoted by The Hill, brushing off the challenge to his base in the GOP presidential race from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Republicans Continue to Pound Clinton, Ignore Bush, Over Emails

March 30, 2015 Buck Banks

Even Nixon didn’t destroy the tapes.

— RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, quoted by The Hill, blasting Hillary Clinton for wiping her private email server and permanently deleting all emails.

Rand Paul Clarifies the Bill of Rights for Us

March 30, 2015 Buck Banks

Year: 2015

GOP Governors Take Obamacare Dollars While Publicly Condemning the Program

$352 million

Sorry, Christians – Under Religious Freedom Laws, the Bible Also Requires You to Refuse Service to Adulterers

Celebrate Holy Week by flogging your bankers — just as Jesus did

Lindsey’s Iowa Whimsy

Dr. Democrat: Don’t Be Fooled by Phony Hillary Email Scandal

Republicans Say Obama Is a Bigger Threat to U.S. Than Putin

34%

Of Republicans called President Obama an imminent threat to the United States, versus 25% who ranked Russian President Vladimir Putin and 23% who viewed Syrian President Bashar al-Assed as that dangerous, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Fiorina Almost Certain to Run for President

90%

The likelihood that Carly Fiorina will enter the GOP presidential race, “with her announcement coming in April or May,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Huckabee Claims His Support Goes Beyond Evangelicals

My base is really beyond just evangelicals. I think the untold secret is a lot of the support that I have, and that I anticipate I will have, is from the working-class, blue-collar people who grew up a lot like I did – not blue-blood, but blue-collar.

— Mike Huckabee, quoted by The Hill, brushing off the challenge to his base in the GOP presidential race from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Republicans Continue to Pound Clinton, Ignore Bush, Over Emails

Even Nixon didn’t destroy the tapes.

— RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, quoted by The Hill, blasting Hillary Clinton for wiping her private email server and permanently deleting all emails.

Rand Paul Clarifies the Bill of Rights for Us

The First Amendment says keep government out of religion, not religion out of government.

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by David Brody, speaking at a private prayer breakfast in Washington, D.C.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.