Last Call For Cruz Control

Senate Republicans are hard at work creating jobs umm fixing inequality errm helping all Americans oh screw it they're trying to eliminate Obamacare again.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, along with 17 other Senate Republicans, has introduced the Defund Obamacare Act of 2013, which would fully defund Obamacare, in the wake of the recent string of bad news surrounding the law.

"The Administration's recent announcement to delay the onerous and unpopular employer mandate until after the 2014 election, coupled with its announcement to delay income and health status eligibility requirements in favor of an honor system for the most expensive entitlement for our generation, confirms what has been obvious from the start--this law is a colossal mistake," Cruz said in a press release.

Cruz is joined by Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga., who introduced companion legislation in the House. Graves has introduced similar legislation before, in March of 2013, and also in the 111th and 112th congresses.

Because of course the legislation will pass, right?   Look, considering Sen. Ted Cruz is poking around New Hampshire these days, it's important to note that this is what passes as serious legislation to GOP hopefuls.

No wonder Congress has an approval rating somewhere around scabies.

The Kroog Vesus The 2013 Hunger Games

And the GOP makes sure that the odds will ever be in their favor, not yours.  Paul Krugman discusses the House GOP's SNAP plans:

So House Republicans voted to maintain farm subsidies — at a higher level than either the Senate or the White House proposed — while completely eliminating food stamps from the bill. 

To fully appreciate what just went down, listen to the rhetoric conservatives often use to justify eliminating safety-net programs. It goes something like this: “You’re personally free to help the poor. But the government has no right to take people’s money” — frequently, at this point, they add the words “at the point of a gun” — “and force them to give it to the poor.” 

It is, however, apparently perfectly O.K. to take people’s money at the point of a gun and force them to give it to agribusinesses and the wealthy. 

Now, some enemies of food stamps don’t quote libertarian philosophy; they quote the Bible instead. Representative Stephen Fincher of Tennessee, for example, cited the New Testament: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” Sure enough, it turns out that Mr. Fincher has personally received millions in farm subsidies. 

Given this awesome double standard — I don’t think the word “hypocrisy” does it justice — it seems almost anti-climactic to talk about facts and figures. But I guess we must. 

I don't think people really appreciate what's going on here:  House Republicans are literally taking money from people who don't have food to eat, and giving it to rich corporate farmers and agribusiness giants because they back Republicans.   Poor people?  Not so much.

Instead, Republicans are quoting the Bible at people and deciding that what America really has too much of is people who work 40 hours a week for crap wages and can't feed their kids.

Unfortunate.  Maybe they should give a kid away or something.

Brian's Story In 2014: Not A Happy Ending

Former Montana Dem Gov. Brian Schweitzer says he will not run to succeed Dem Sen. Max Baucus, making it almost certain to be the third open seat that Democrats forfeit to red state Republicans in 2014.  Chris Cilizza, making sense for once:

Schweitzer’s candidacy was assumed in the political world following the surprise retirement announcement of Sen. Max Baucus (D) in the spring. The popular ex-governor remains voraciously ambitious in the political arena, and the Senate seemed like a decent stop on the way to what many people in and out of the state thought might be a run for president in 2016.

The field was effectively frozen as Schweitzer made up his mind. With him not running, look for Rep. Steve Daines (R) to come under heavy pressure to make the race. And while Democrats talk about state schools superintendent Denise Juneau and state auditor Monica Lindeen, neither woman has the proven electoral record (or even close to it) of Schweitzer.

It’s worth noting that Democrats have demonstrated their ability to win in Montana — even with a national wind blowing in their collective face. Sen. Jon Tester won a second term in November despite the fact that President Obama won just 42 percent of the vote in the state. But that was a race featuring a Democratic incumbent. Montana in 2014 will be an open seat.

Nationally, Montana becomes the third problematic open seat for the party. In West Virginia, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R) is a clear favorite, as Democrats have yet to persuade a serious candidate to run. In South Dakota, the two leading potential Democratic candidates took a pass while popular former governor Mike Rounds dodged a serious Republican primary challenge.

If you give Republicans those three open seats — they are favored at the moment, but the election remains 16 months away — they then need three more for the majority. Those pickups would almost certainly come from four seats, all of which are held by Democratic incumbents running for reelection — in Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina.

In other words, the GOP now has a clear shot at seven red state Democratic seats, and would take back Congress with six.  Alaska would be a problem should Sarah Palin decide to run (and lose) to Mark Begich, but that still leaves six very likely pickups.  I wasn't terribly worried a few months ago about the Dems holding in 2014.

I am worried now.  Sen. Kay Hagen may be the key here in NC, given the massive GOP takeover in the state.  I'm hoping she can rally a backlash against the Republicans there, but it's going to be very, very close.

Time to get to work on 2014, folks.

[UPDATE]  That goes doubly true after Schweitzer bowing out finds Nate Silver putting the odds of the Dems keeping the Senate at best as a coin-toss.

StupidiNews!

• Peaceful protests over the Zimmerman trial verdict sprang up Sunday from LA to NYC yesterday as thousands protested nationwide.
• Calls for the resignation of Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy intensified after text messages between Rajoy and former treasurer Luis Barcenas involving a massive slush fund were revealed.
• Some 25 Gitmo detainees have ended their hunger strike as US officials have agreed to house them in communal detention rather than solitary confinement.
• Microsoft has drastically cut the prices of its Surface RT tablets after dismal sales in the first half of 2013 compared to Google and Apple tablets.
• A Canadian team has finally claimed the 33-year old Sikorsky prize for the first working human-powered helicopter flight of at least one minute.

Last Call For Passing The Torch

Texas GOP Gov. Rick Perry is passing control of the state to his Attorney General partner in crime for the last 3 terms, Greg Abbott.

Longtime Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, a political conservative, announced his candidacy for governor on Sunday.

Abbott’s move came less than a week after Gov. Rick Perry said he would not seek another term in Austin, clearing a potential path, some say, for him to run for president.

Abbott made the announcement in San Antonio, a decision that many expected as he has already raised tens of millions for the race.

“When it comes to our freedom and our future, I will never - I will never stop fighting," he said.

First elected attorney general in 2002, Abbott has defended socially conservative causes during his tenure. These include pushing for the display of a Ten Commandments monument of the grounds of the Texas Capitol in 2005.

He also has sued the Obama administration more than 25 times, including case that led to the landmark Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, last year.

So if anything, Texas will become even more reactionary, more theocratic, more fringe, and more hateful under Abbott.  Awesome.  Also, it's funny how the federal government wasn't worth suing until January 20, 2009.  Odd how that works out.

Dear America:

Roger L. Simon at PJ Media:  "Dear America:  The Zimmerman trial? It's Obama's fault.  It's always Obama's fault."

Bonus Verbatim Stupid: 

"This is the work of a reactionary, someone who consciously/unconsciously wants to push our nation back to the 1950s.

It is also the work of a narcissist who thinks of himself first, of his image, not of black, white or any other kind of people. It’s no accident that race relations in our country have gone backwards during his stewardship."

Because to the right, it's always Obama's fault.

Last Call For "Justice"

And George Zimmerman is a free man tonight, exonerated in the death of Trayvon Martin.

George Zimmerman is not guilty of murder in the death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida jury decided late Saturday.

The fact that Zimmerman fired the bullet that killed Martin was never in question, but the verdict means the six-person jury had reasonable doubt that the shooting amounted to a criminal act.

The verdict caps a case that has inflamed passions for well over a year, much of it focused on race and gun rights.

The jury -- made up of all women -- had three choices: to find Zimmerman guilty of second-degree murder; to find him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter; or to find him not guilty.

The jurors deliberated for 16½ hours total, including 13 on Saturday alone, before delivering their verdict.

In the end the jury decided that Florida's stand your ground law meant that the killing of Martin was justified.  Regardless of the verdict tonight, Trayvon Martin is dead.  MoJo's Lauren Williams:

But it’s not over. Now that the verdict is in, here’s what could happen next.

Federal charges: The Department of Justice launched an investigation last March to investigate whether Martin’s shooting amounted to a federal hate crime—that is, if Zimmerman followed and killed Martin because he was black. In July 2012, the FBI released a statement saying that investigators had found no evidence that Zimmerman was motivated by racism. The July statement indicates that federal charges are highly unlikely, but the DOJ has not announced that the case is closed. It’s still being brought up as a post-trial possibility. NAACP president Benjamin Jealous, for instance, said Saturday on MSNBC that "there are still additional legal avenues. He could still be charged with federal civil rights charges."

Civil lawsuit: Martin’s family reached a settlement in April with the homeowners’ association of the subdivision where the killing occurred. The details of the settlement were not made public, but the Orlando Sentinel reported that the family was "said to" have been awarded at least $1 million. The suit did not include Zimmerman, but the family’s attorney Benjamin Crump has said that the family intends to sue their son’s killer at some point in the future. It’s not uncommon for families to seek a form of justice through civil courts, even when a the defendant is acquitted in criminal court. And the standards for judgments are different in such civil cases.

The public’s reaction: In the week leading to the verdict, speculation that people—specifically black people—would riot if Zimmerman were acquitted spread through the mainstream media, after taking off in the conservative press and cable news. What’s more likely, based on how Martin supporters have reacted initially—after the verdict was read, the crowd outside of the courthouse dispersed peacefully—is that protests (of the non-violent variety) against racial profiling will continue.

All important things to remember.

Jaeger And Kaiju Must Fight, It Is The Way Of All Things

In the year 2025, things aren't going so well for that whole "humanity" thing in Pacific Rim.

We're getting mauled by a race of giant monsters, Kaiju, coming out of an inter-dimensional rift in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.  For the last dozen years or so the earth has fought back with Jaegers, massive robots piloted by neurally-linked pairs of brave souls.  The problem is the Kaiju are winning, coming through the rift bigger, badder, and more often and the Jaeger program, and the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps that runs it is about to be defunded as the final days of humanity draw near.

Enter our hero, Raleigh Beckett (Charlie Hunnam), a former Jaeger pilot who lost his brother halfway through this long Kaiju War.  With earth down to a handful of outclassed and outgunned Jaegers, PPDC Marshal Stacker Pentecost (yes, that's his name, and yes, he's played by Idris Elba) drags him out of anonymity in Alaska and to the final remaining Jaeger base in Hong Kong, with the plan to make a last-ditch effort to attack the rift itself and seal it, saving the planet.

If this seems like the plot of the most badass live-action anime you can think of (plus Ron Perlman) then yes, you're pretty much right on the mark.  Pacific Rim knows exactly who its audience is and opens up with slam-bang action, all the way through, as we see the Kaiju War through Beckett's eyes.  Mako Mori (Oscar-nominated Rinko Kikuchi), Pentecost's young protege', may be the only person able to link with Beckett and handle the pain of his loss while still being able to fire plasma cannon shots down the throats of rampaging Kaiju, and Drs. Geiszler and Gottlieb and (Charlie Day and Burn Gorman) round out the cast as the brains behind the robotic brawn.

Proust and Longfellow, this ain't.  But as far as giant robots with elbow-rocket assisted punching goes?  It's Shakespeare.   So far, this movie is the only thing coming close to Iron Man 3 in the summer fun department.

The Pitter-Pat Of Small Men

In a move that surprised precisely nobody, NC GOP Gov. Pat McCrory broke his campaign promise from just 9 months ago and will sign draconian NC House anti-choice measures into law, because Republicans have declared that women are all too stupid to be trusted with their own vaginas or something.  Also, motorcycle safety.

McCrory said he doesn’t consider the provisions in the House bill that increase regulation of abortion clinics to be in conflict with his campaign promise because the regulations simply need updating to ensure patient safety. The last time the state updated the regulations was in 1994.

“I will sign it because it doesn’t restrict further access and it’s safer, which was needed,” McCrory said in an interview in New Bern earlier Friday with a News 14 reporter, according to the TV station.

Last week, the Senate unexpectedly produced a new abortion bill that pulled together elements of three other bills and quickly passed it. On Monday, McCrory expressed reservations about the bill, telling reporters there was a distinction between safety measures and restrictions, and that he wanted to ensure women’s health was protected.

On Wednesday, he threatened to use his veto power for the first time if his concerns weren’t addressed. The announcement heartened abortion-rights supporters, but not for long. The House then crafted a new bill in consultation with the governor’s administration, which the full House approved Thursday. 

So, at this point instead of the NC Senate deciding to close down all but one clinic in the state, McCrory can quietly close down all of them with even more draconian stuff.  After all, this is a guy who in the seven months since he took office has purged regulators from nearly every state department and replaced them with his own cronies, signed into law such drastic cuts in unemployment benefits that the state no longer qualifies for any federal unemployment dollars, moved to eliminate early voting and same-day voter registration, and named wealthy state Tea Party leader Art Pope as his budget director.

Yeah, McCrory won't totally screw over women with this bill.

There are not many differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The Senate bill would require abortion clinics to meet standards that are similar to outpatient surgery centers. Only one clinic in the state meets those stringent standards and 16 others could have to close because they couldn’t afford to upgrade.

The House bill orders the state Department of Health and Human Services to develop regulations that in some instances might be as stringent as outpatient surgery centers if applicable, “while not unduly restricting access.” The bill also allows the state to develop temporary rules without legislative approval, and eventually come up with permanent rules.

The House bill’s sponsors say that it is meant to be less restrictive than the Senate bill, but opponents say it is vague and could end up erecting more barriers to abortion clinics than the other bill, depending on how the law is interpreted.

And guess who now has total control over the state's Department of Health and Human Services?  Why, Pat McCrory, who purged those appointed by Democrats and installed his own guys.  Best part is he'll get away with it.  Or, he thinks he will.

How about it, North Carolina women?

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/12/3025869/mccrory-will-sign-house-abortion.html#storylink=cpy

 

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• After a week of protests and debate, the Texas Senate has passed extremely restrictive anti-abortion laws, headed to Gov. Rick Perry's desk for signature and a nearly instant court battle.
• New figures show powder cocaine use in the US has dropped significantly, with the latest survey finding a 40% drop from 2006 to 2011 numbers.
• A third victim of the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 has died of injuries sustained in the accident as all four runways at SFO have now been cleared.
• Preliminary investigation into Friday's Parisian train crash that killed seven finds a technical fault with the train linkage broke during the crash.
• A 19-year old Texas man who was jailed for making "terroristic threats" on Facebook is out on bail after an anonymous donor covered his $500,000 bond.

Last Call For The Half-Grown Farm Bill

Jon Bernstein asks "What did Orange Julius actually get out of a Farm Bill with no SNAP funding?"

The story, here, is that the original House version of the bill failed when an amendment was adopted which cut SNAP (food stamp) funding, meaning that it lost Democratic votes, while Republicans deserted the bill anyway because it was still too high-spending for them. The leadership "solved" that by splitting the bill and going for a GOP-only 218, and after (reported) heavy lobbing, they got over the bar.

What's not clear to me is whether John Boehner is better off with this thing passing. As Ed Kilgore notes, it's not real likely that anything can come out of conference that can pass. It's not really clear, right now, if the separate nutrition bill can pass. It's not clear what Boehner had to promise to conservatives about conference to get them to stick on this vote. It's not clear what the next step is.

It's clear what the next step is if you assume SNAP is nothing more than 47 million hostages the Tea Party can take.

It seems to me that Boehner did have another choice. If the GOP-only farm-only Farm Bill fails, then maybe he can push the mainstream of his conference to support a bipartisan bill, leaving the conservative fringe out entirely. It won't work on everything, but on the Farm Bill, it really might. Maybe. And if it works on the Farm Bill and there's little fallout, that might strengthen Boehner's ability to gather different coalitions on the next tough one that comes up.

Sure.  And then it becomes another regular battle over SNAP that the House can then use for leverage.  Poor people are just bargaining chips.  They don't matter, and they aren't a majority Republican constituency.  They're poor people.  Screw 'em.

Bobo Gets Lucky On The Dice

Visually-impaired squirrel named David Brooks, meet the tasty acorn of immigrationyou stumbled across by complete accident.

It’s beginning to look as though we’re not going to get an immigration reform law this year. House Republicans are moving in a direction that will probably be unacceptable to the Senate majority and the White House. Conservative commentators like my friends Bill Kristol and Rich Lowry are arguing that the status quo is better than the comprehensive approach passed by the Senate. The whole effort is in peril.

This could be a tragedy for the country and political suicide for Republicans, especially because the conservative arguments against the comprehensive approach are not compelling.  

Every now and again, David Brooks is correct about something.  That's what makes the other 97% of the time so maddening, because it means his standard obliviousness is a conscious choice.  And again, you long-time lurkers know I've been telling anyone who cared to listen that the House GOP was going to trash immigration reform, just like seven years ago.

The first conservative complaint is that, as Kristol and Lowry put it, “the enforcement provisions are riddled with exceptions, loopholes and waivers.” If Obama can waive the parts of Obamacare he finds inconvenient, why won’t he end up waiving a requirement for the use of E-Verify. 

There’s some truth to this critique, and maybe the House should pass a version of the Senate bill that has fewer waivers and loopholes. But, at some point, this argument just becomes an excuse to oppose every piece of legislation, ever. All legislation allows the executive branch to have some discretion. It’s always possible to imagine ways in which a law may be distorted in violation of its intent. But if you are going to use that logic to oppose something, you are going to end up opposing tax reform, welfare reform, the Civil Rights Act and everything else. 

And surprise, that's exactly what they are doing and why.   Republicans are opposing legislating and governance itself and figure whatever happens, they can hang it all on Obama.

Whether this bill passes or not, this country is heading toward a multiethnic future. Republicans can either shape that future in a conservative direction or, as I’ve tried to argue, they can become the receding roar of a white America that is never coming back. 

That’s what’s at stake. 

They'll never do it.  Years from now when we look back on the ruins of the Obama-era GOP and their failure on immigration reform as where they broke down for good.

North Colorado Rockies

Colorado Republicans apparently aren't too fond of democracies where they might lose elections, so ten rural (and very tea party red) Colorado counties are now openly talking about secession and forming their own North Colorado state.

There’s a growing effort to create a 51st state out of parts of northeast Colorado.

Ten counties, including Weld and Morgan, started talking about seceding last month. Now some people Lincoln and Cheyenne counties say they want to join a new state they’d call “North Colorado.”

Organizers of the secession effort say their interests are not being represented at the state Capitol. Representatives from the 10 counties held a meeting on Monday in the town of Akron in Weld County to begin mapping the boundaries for the new state they say will represent the interests of rural Colorado.

Yeah, Republicans love democracy and voting so much they want to break off and form their own state rather than deal with voters who don't agree with them and outnumber them.

Almost like cranky white guys are becoming a minority.  And we've seen before how they react.

The secessionist movement is the result of a growing urban-rural divide, which was exacerbated after this year’s legislation session where lawmakers raised renewable energy standards for rural electric co-ops, floated bills increasing regulations on oil and gas, and passed sweeping gun control.

The creation of a new state comes with risks. A new state would have to draw up new water agreements which are critical to agriculture and uses 85 percent of Colorado’s water. Supporters say it also comes with new opportunities.

“I say 80 percent of the oil and gas revenue in the state of Colorado is coming out of northeastern Colorado – Weld, Yuma County, and some of other counties,” Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway said. “Seventy percent of the K-12 funding is coming off the state lands in Weld County alone. I’m telling you we are economic drivers.”

So they want to take their oil money, and screw the rest of Colorado.   These guys don't want a democracy, they want a giant gated community for themselves.

Ask Sudan and South Sudan how breaking up land over oil rights goes, guys.

StupidiNews!

• The defense in the trial of George Zimmerman will wrap up closing arguments today as the case is expected to go to a jury of six women this afternoon.
• Irish lawmakers in the parliament's lower house passed legislation allowing abortion where the mother's life is at risk, sending it to the upper house.
• House Republicans have passed a farm bill without any food stamps funding whatsoever, prompting an immediate veto threat from the White House.
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren is joining Sen. John McCain to sponsor legislation that will restore Glass-Steagall era barriers between commercial and investment banks.
• After its Supreme Court case loss over gene patents, Myriad Genetics still says it owns other patents on testing and continues to sue other genetic analysis companies.

Last Call For Southern Culture On The Skids, Part 2

And Sen. Rand Paul's response to critics that point out "Hey, your social media director is a neo-Confederate douchebag" is pretty much worse than the original problem.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is standing by a close aide who for years made pro-secession and neo-Confederate arguments.

"People are calling him a white supremacist," Paul said in an interview with The Huffington Post. "If I thought he was a white supremacist, he would be fired immediately. If I thought he would treat anybody on the color of their skin different that others, I’d fire him immediately."

Hey Rand?  There's a reason why people are calling him that.

Paul's comments follow a report from the conservative Washington Free Beacon about Jack Hunter, who joined Paul's office as social media director in 2012. In his 20s, Hunter was the chairman of the League of the South, a group that "advocates the secession and subsequent independence of the Southern State from this forced union and the formation of a Southern republic," according to the Free Beacon report.

Anti-Defamation League Investigative Research Director Mark Pitcavage called the group "implicitly racist."

During his radio career Hunter also discussed "racial pride" and expressed his support for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, according to the Free Beacon. In 2004 Hunter wrote that the heart of Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was "in the right place."

But no, Rand Paul defends the guy.

There has been no evidence of discriminatory behavior by Hunter, Paul said.

"All I can say is, we have a zero tolerance policy for anybody who displays discriminatory behavior or belief in discriminating against people based on the color of their skin, their religion, their sexual orientation, anything like that," Paul said. "We won't tolerate any of that, and I've seen no evidence of that."

During his time as a radio host Hunter would also make public appearances wearing a mask with the Confederate flag printed on it. Paul brushed off the masked when asked about it.

"It was a shock radio job. He was doing wet t-shirt contests. But can a guy not have a youth and stuff? People try to say I smoked pot one time, and I wasn't fit for office," Paul said.

Right.  Totally equivalent. Smoking pot doesn't mean you're unfit for office.  Defending and employing secessionist, white pride assholes makes you unfit for office.