Some we wish weren't so memorable.
Liberal operatives paid big bucks by embattled pro-Clinton super PAC
Liberal operatives paid big bucks by embattled pro-Clinton super PAC
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Huckabee trips on his own hypocrisy
For a guy who has made a comfortable living criticizing the parenting skills of the Obamas for allowing their children to listen to the music of Beyonce', Mike Huckabee just skated out over ice too thin.
Some review.
Josh Duggar, the eldest of the "19 and Counting" children of the TV family, resigned from his post at the Family Research Council (an extremist Christian conservative organization founded by James Dobson, led by Tony Perkins, and labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center) after it was revealed that he had sexually molested five young girls -- including some of his sisters -- in 2006, when he was 14 years old.
That was enough controversy and 'do as I say, not as I do' irony for everyone to use the entire Memorial Day weekend to digest, without having to look at the selfies of Duggar with Huckabee -- and Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz; roughly half of the GOP presidential field. But Huck went on and threw some gasoline on the coals in the grill, posting a lengthy Facebook status update affirming his "support for the Duggar family," and saying that Duggar was being attacked by "blood-thirsty media" and deserves "our support."
That appears to have been a bridge too far for Huckabee's Facebook 'friends', who are tearing him to shreds on his own page. A few of those "you've lost my vote" reactions are posted here, with a link to whatever Huckabee's FB page monitors have left up (I did not click over to check).
Media reaction, as you might imagine, has been swift and harsh. Not quite 'bloodthirsty'.
Coincidentally, Huckabee had just received the endorsement of his 2016 presidential bid from Jim Bob Duggar -- who was himself running for political office at the time of the molestations by his teenage son -- and wife Michelle.
(Huckabee's own son killed a dog at Boy Scout camp in 1998, when he was 17. Later, David Huckabee became an Eagle Scout. But that's a digression.)
Yeah, the schadenfreude would be delicious... if it weren't so sickening.
As the picture at the top demonstrates, Huckabee has enjoyed the company of a variety of child molesters recently without being called to account. Until this week, and by his own hand.
Some people might point out that he has not just immolated his own presidential aspirations, but that he has done considerable damage to the other candidates like him, and to the segment of the electorate that demands a Christian conservative in the White House. A development that plays directly into the hands of the corporate caucus of the GOP and its preferred choice(s). That's probably a stretch.
After all, there's still Rick Perry, the perfect marriage of Christian conservative and crony capitalist. But even he's got some explaining and a little scrubbing to do.
Mike Huckabee with two child molesters, see a pattern here? pic.twitter.com/MlW1ghy5KV
— philip harris (@pharris830) May 22, 2015
Some review.
Josh Duggar, the eldest of the "19 and Counting" children of the TV family, resigned from his post at the Family Research Council (an extremist Christian conservative organization founded by James Dobson, led by Tony Perkins, and labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center) after it was revealed that he had sexually molested five young girls -- including some of his sisters -- in 2006, when he was 14 years old.
That was enough controversy and 'do as I say, not as I do' irony for everyone to use the entire Memorial Day weekend to digest, without having to look at the selfies of Duggar with Huckabee -- and Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz; roughly half of the GOP presidential field. But Huck went on and threw some gasoline on the coals in the grill, posting a lengthy Facebook status update affirming his "support for the Duggar family," and saying that Duggar was being attacked by "blood-thirsty media" and deserves "our support."
That appears to have been a bridge too far for Huckabee's Facebook 'friends', who are tearing him to shreds on his own page. A few of those "you've lost my vote" reactions are posted here, with a link to whatever Huckabee's FB page monitors have left up (I did not click over to check).
Media reaction, as you might imagine, has been swift and harsh. Not quite 'bloodthirsty'.
Huckabee praised the Duggar family, who took over a year to bring the matter to law enforcement, saying that they “dealt with it and were honest and open about it with the victims and the authorities.”
He adds that Josh is a good person who “confessed his sins to those he harmed [and] sought help,” despite the fact that, according to reports, Josh did not receive counseling and was only sent to live with a family friend who worked in the home remodeling business.
The former Arkansas governor saved his anger for the people who have cited the case to point out the disingenuousness of the reality TV stars and the conservative political activists who hold them up as a paragon of moral virtue, or as Josh referred to his family, “the epitome of conservative values.” They also have a record of depicting LGBT people as threats to children.
Coincidentally, Huckabee had just received the endorsement of his 2016 presidential bid from Jim Bob Duggar -- who was himself running for political office at the time of the molestations by his teenage son -- and wife Michelle.
(Huckabee's own son killed a dog at Boy Scout camp in 1998, when he was 17. Later, David Huckabee became an Eagle Scout. But that's a digression.)
Yeah, the schadenfreude would be delicious... if it weren't so sickening.
As the picture at the top demonstrates, Huckabee has enjoyed the company of a variety of child molesters recently without being called to account. Until this week, and by his own hand.
Some people might point out that he has not just immolated his own presidential aspirations, but that he has done considerable damage to the other candidates like him, and to the segment of the electorate that demands a Christian conservative in the White House. A development that plays directly into the hands of the corporate caucus of the GOP and its preferred choice(s). That's probably a stretch.
After all, there's still Rick Perry, the perfect marriage of Christian conservative and crony capitalist. But even he's got some explaining and a little scrubbing to do.
Friday, May 22, 2015
Pastors protected, 'Mr. Tesla' loses, high speed rail survives but not local control
Oh, and the state budget will have a tax cut for property owners and businesses. No sales tax cut. It's also pinching schools again.
-- In a jiu jitsu move, Texas House Democrats decided they would not let themselves be branded as opponents of religious freedom by Republicans. So they nearly all voted aye to shield preachers and ministers from being compelled to
These are the games legislators play at the end of the session.
-- In a classic faceoff between the country-ass representatives and the big city ones, two lines of words were removed from the budget bill that allowed high-speed rail to live another day.
Budget writers on Thursday removed a Senate-inserted rider in the spending plan that said the Texas Department of Transportation couldn’t spend any state money on “subsidizing or assisting in the construction of high-speed passenger rail.”
[...]
The two-sentence provision in the massive, $210 billion state spending plan had proved nettlesome in late-session budget negotiations, pitting rural lawmakers against those who represent Texas’ two biggest metropolitan areas.
[...]
But bills aimed at stopping or slowing the project appear bottled up in both the House and the Senate. And with the budget rider shot down, (GOP Sen. Charles) Schwertner predicted that Texans “will rue the day” that they didn’t stop the project when they could.
This is another way you can distinguish progress from regress. It's not always Democrats vs. Republicans.
-- In the latest example of the word 'local' in local control defined as "under the Capitol dome", legislators don't like it when counties sue polluters, so they're going to stop that.
If finally passed, House Bill 1794 would notch another victory for a wide range of business groups in a legislative session that’s been kind to industry at the expense of environmentalists and advocates for local control. The proposal would set a five-year statute of limitations and cap payouts at about $2 million when counties sue companies that have fouled their water or air.
A 24-6 vote with no debate set the bill up for a final Senate vote. The legislation already sailed through the House, pushed by Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth.
Proponents say that curbing civil penalties assessed on top of those doled out by state regulators would bolster economic certainty for companies and allow them to focus resources on cleaning up their messes.
Because that's been going so well along the San Jacinto River.
In the past five years, Harris County has brought about 10 such cases per year, with penalties averaging about $61,000 per case. But several high-profile environmental cases have resulted in bigger settlements with the county, including a January agreement with AT&T for about $5 million over leaking storage tanks.
Lawyers for the county and the state recently won a $29.2 million settlement from McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corp. and Houston-based Waste Management Inc. for pollution in the San Jacinto Waste Pits in the eastern half of the country, where wastewater containing dioxin, highly toxic and carcinogenic, has festered for decades.
-- This session has marked several very big victories for corporations large and small. 'Mr. Tesla' was not one of the winners.
In a turn of events that isn’t terribly surprising, a bill to allow Tesla Motors to sell cars directly to consumers in Texas has failed to make it to the floor, with various state representatives offering excuses about not wanting to "piss off all the auto dealers."
We already know that Elon Musk doubled his lobbying expenses, and even spread another $150K among lawmakers this session, all for naught. But it was left to "Miz T" to deliver the ignominious coup de grace.
The following criticism from Texas state Representative Senfronia Thompson highlights the challenge Tesla is up against.
“It would have been wiser if Mr. Tesla had sat down with the car dealers first,” Thompson said.
Yes, if only Mr. Tesla came back from the dead to sit down for a nice little tete-a-tete with car dealers, perhaps then they could have hammered out a mutually beneficial agreement.
Thompson has had an extraordinarily bad session. She also co-sponsored the anti-fracking ban legislation that many Houston Democrats foolishly voted for. Twenty years -- ten terms -- in the Lege appears to have been one too many for her at this point. She was once a progressive warrior, but it looks like she's either sold out or forgotten all she knows. Sad.
Of all the Texas Democrats that have shamed themselves in the 84th, Senfronia Thompson stands alone at the top of the list. If she doesn't make the Texas Monthly Top Ten 'Worst', then somebody hasn't been paying attention.
-- Oh jesus, I almost forgot to mention that poor women aren't allowed to use Planned Parenthood for their cancer screenings any longer.
With another ten days, 16 hours, and a few minutes remaining, it's difficult to comprehend that the worst might be yet to come.
Update: GOPLifer seems as disgusted as I am.
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