Last Call

Last week I mentioned that Illinois lawmakers were going to take up authorizing same-sex marriage, and that the plan had the blessing of state GOP chair Pat Brady, who said that the "true conservative position" is in favor of same-sex marriage.  Unfortunately, the vote never materialized as Republicans went bonkers and were able to scuttle the plan.

That of course, was last week.  This week, Illinois Republicans want Pat Brady destroyed and thrown out of the party leadership as Brady has a full-fledged revolt on his hands.

State GOP Chairman Pat Brady faces growing calls for his resignation, at a time when some Illinois Republicans are rethinking the party’s image and stance on social issues, following a dismal showing in November’s elections.

Conservative groups and activists pounced on Brady shortly after he released a statement last week offering his “full support” of a bill before the General Assembly that would legalize same-sex marriage.

But now the public demands for his ouster are coming from party leaders themselves.

“Pat Brady is a total disgrace,” said Bobbie Peterson, a Republican state central committeewoman from Beecher, Ill.

“He’s a pretty face for TV. He can speak well. Period,” Peterson said. “But what’s coming out of his mouth is not what the Illinois Republican party is about.”

It’s unclear whether the party bosses opposing Brady have enough votes to oust him. But even those who stop short of asking for his resignation plan to take him to the woodshed for neglecting to notify party bosses before he publicly contradicted the party’s platform plank on gay marriage.

“I was shocked,” said State Sen. Jim Oberweis, a committeeman from west suburban Sugar Grove who has asked Brady to resign.“Very surprised. Did not expect that and didn’t know why he would have done that.”

Now don't get me wrong, Pat Brady is still a Republican.  But he's the first to figure out that maybe, just maybe, the institutionalized bigotry and intolerance of the GOP platform may be a huge reason as to why the state is completely dominated by Democrats.  And if you're wondering "Gosh, why aren't more Republicans taking a stand against this kind of hatred" look no further than the Illinois GOP doing everything they can to rid themselves of somebody who thinks that in America equality should be the law of the land.

But equality is "not what the Illinois Republican party is about."  Might want to keep that in mind.

Bang-Bang Play

Once again, if you want to know why the NRA is screaming about "Obama taking your guns away" let's understand that they are the largest gun and ammo manufacturer's lobby in the country, and they are accomplishing their goals: raising membership, and selling more guns and ammo.

“Obama wants to take everybody’s guns away,” said Bob Daziel, who stood in line with hundreds on Saturday to get into the Crossroads of The West event in Daly City, California. “So they’re down here buying ammo, buying guns, they’re getting ready for the next revolution.”

Organizers told KGO-TV they were surprised at the record turnout, believing it to be spurred on by the recent discussions headed by Vice President Joe Biden regarding gun safety.

“It was constructive dialogue,” said Bob Templeton, the event’s president, who attended the meetings this week between Biden and members of the firearms industry. “But I think they had their minds made up when they came in the meeting.”

Templeton said his organization’s stance echoed that of the National Rifle Association: “Further restrictions on the Second Amendment are not on the table for discussion.”

Biden is expected to deliver recommendations to President Barack Obama on Jan. 15.

“That’s why we all need to get them now before they take them away,” said Jayleen Heres, who bought an AR-15 assault rifle — the same weapon used in last month’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. “I have three more at home. This is the fourth.”

Meanwhile, lines at the show for everything from firearms to ammunition swelled throughout the day. Templeton said he expected the latter to sell out before the show concludes on Sunday.

“I’m like the hundredth [person] in line right now,” said another attendee, Frank Andtetta. “There’s like more than 500 people on line to get ammunition.” 

These are people who are convinced that government troops are going to search everyone in America's homes and take their weapons and ammunition.  They believe that they must buy more now so that they can be prepared to shoot and kill anyone who tries to do this.  They believe that basically everyone in their family must be armed and trained to use these weapons to defend themselves, to shoot and kill if necessary.

They believe a revolution is coming, where patriots like themselves will be forced to take those weapons and ammunition and shoot and kill their fellow Americans.  And they freely admit their willingness to do this if they feel they have the right to use that ultimate sanction.

It's ridiculous, and yet millions of Americans are doing this right now, and have been stockpiling firearms and ammo for the last four years (and some long before that).

The vast majority of these folks will never fire a shot in anger.  But some will.  And it's going to be a bloody time in our history.  I'm not frightened about our government.  I'm frightened of these people believing they are above it.

Oh, and speaking of buying at a gun show, the other reason why gun shows are stocked to the gills and attract record numbers of buyers is the loophole that buying a gun at a gun show means no background check necessary if you're not selling as a registered dealer.  (You do have to do a spot background check if you are.)  But then after all, we're dealing with people who think there should be no background checks at all, because they don't work.  That's a bit like saying "driver's licenses don't prevent all auto fatalities, let's get rid of them."

So yeah, felons, criminals, nutjobs, can walk into a gun show like this and buy all the "second hand" guns they want to.  There's no regulation of private sales like this.  But we can't regulate firearms, nope.

Hyprocrisy Of The Year Award

And it's only January.  However, I'm pretty sure this story will hold up as the most blatant example of outright hypocrisy of 2013.

A New Hampshire lawyer who works with a virulently anti-gay Christian-right organization has been found guilty of child pornography charges after videotaping her own daughter having sex with two men on multiple occasions.

Lisa Biron, 43, of Manchester faces a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison after a jury convicted her yesterday. The jury deliberated for less than an hour.

Biron, arrested by the FBI last November, was accused of eight felony counts involving the videotaping of men having sex with a 14-year-old girl who was identified by the Associated Press as her daughter. She also allegedly made a cellphone video of herself having sex with her daughter.

Biron, who claimed on her Facebook page (which was taken down, according to the Concord Monitor) that the Bible was her favorite book, had worked with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), formerly the Alliance Defense Fund, in defending a Pentecostal church in Concord in a tax fight against the city.

The Arizona-based ADF calls itself a “servant ministry” that seeks to transform the legal system and advocate “for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family.” The group issues dire warnings about “the homosexual agenda” and offers a book (available for a donation of $35) by its president, Alan Sears, and senior director Craig Osten, with that title. In the book, the authors claim that “the homosexual agenda” will destroy religious liberty and free speech. In one chapter, they claim that homosexuality on college campuses leads to pedophilia, and that homosexuality and pedophilia “are intrinsically linked,” a falsehood long perpetuated by the anti-gay right to demonize LGBT people.

To recap, Jesus-loving lawyer working with rabidly bigoted anti-gay group is convicted of pimping out her own underage daughter and taping having sex with her.   Remember, homosexuality leads to pedophilia according to these jagoffs, and yet it's the anti-gay lawyer sexually abusing her own child. 

25 years in prison isn't nearly enough for this one, ugh.