White Out (Of Your Mind)

There are some days where I'm just entirely ashamed of the state I grew up in, North Carolina, and this is one of those instances.

The wife of a sponsor of North Carolina’s Amendment One, a proposed change to the state’s constitution that would ensure legal recognition only for marriage between a man and a woman, reportedly offered an eyebrow-raising explanation for her husband’s support of the measure.

Jodie Brunstetter, the wife of state Sen. Peter Brunstetter (R), has found herself embroiled in controversy after suggesting that her husband’s role in writing the bill — which passed the Republican-controlled general assembly last fall — was racially motivated.

According to the alternative Yes! Weekly, which picked up the remarks from freelance journalist and activist Chad Nance, Jodie Brunstetter told a poll worker in Winston-Salem, N.C. Monday that the reason her husband “wrote Amendment 1 was because the Caucasian race is diminishing and we need to uh, reproduce.”

Nance had been volunteering for a group opposed to Amendment One while also serving as a campaign manager for Matt Newton, a U.S. House candidate in North Carolina’s 12th Congressional district. After a dispute with the candidate over his decision to make Jodie Brunstetter’s remarks public, Nance resigned from Newton’s campaign.

So yeah, Amendment 1 in North Carolina?  There's a reason it was written and worded so terribly vague and so awfully broad.   There's a reason that in a state where laws already exist to outlaw gay marriage that an amendment to the state constitution is apparently necessary.  And there's a reason why I think supporters of stupid, bigoted, divisive nonsense like this are stupid, divisive bigots.  Sick and tired of hearing this stuff would be happening with a white President and that Barack Obama's race has nothing to do with the Tea Party's complete hatestorm.  Not at this level.  Not with people openly admitting this garbage.

Anyhow, this is just asinine, ignorant, and silly.  If I wasn't vehemently opposed to Amendment 1 before, it has now become my duty to see this thing die screaming.

Playing Real Money Ball Now

If you're going to run a charity con game and get caught after a multi-year manhunt, run a big ass charity con game.  On veterans.  And then give the money to the GOP.  After all, they wrote the book on this stuff, right?

The U.S. Marshal Service announced Tuesday that it had captured one of America’s Most Wanted fugitives who is accused of creating a fake charity for Navy veterans that funneled some of the $100 million collected to Republican candidates.

Between the early 2000s and 2010, a man using the alias “Bobby Thompson” collected millions from unsuspecting donors for the charity U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), which claimed to provide support for members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Officials believe that very little, if any, of the money was ever used as intended, according to the U.S. Marshal Service.

To help legitimize his charity, Thompson allegedly donated part of the ill-gotten funds to Republican candidates like former President George W. Bush, former Republican presidential candidate John McCain and House Speaker John Boehner.

Republican Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli reportedly personally pleaded with Thompson for donations and received $55,000 for his effort, making Thompson Cuccinelli’s second-largest donor. Cuccinelli was eventually forced to turn over the tainted money to veterans support groups.

Over the years, Thompson also attended the 2008 Republican National Convention and numerous fundraisers. The Roanoke Times obtained photos of Thompson posing with Bush, Boehner and McCain — as well as Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL), former Bush adviser Karl Rove and former Republican New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Awesome.  Glad they busted this guy, and it raises a whole nasty batch of questions about this guy and his donations, just in time for campaign 2012.  I'm sure he gave himself up just to spite Orange Julius.

When The Guys In Charge Are Idiots, This Sort Of Thing Will Happen

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A college student who was forgotten by federal drug agents and left in a holding cell for five days without food, water or access to a toilet says that he drank his own urine to survive.

Daniel Chong also said that he bit into his glasses to break them and tried to use a shard to scratch "Sorry Mom" into his arm, according to a story published Tuesday in U-T San Diego (http://bit.ly/JRlSr8 ).

The 24-year-old engineering student at University of California, San Diego, was swept up as one of nine suspects in an April 21 drug raid that netted 18,000 ecstasy pills, other drugs and weapons.

Chong said federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents told him he would be released. One agent even promised to drive him home from the DEA field office in Kearny Mesa, he said. Instead, he was returned to a holding cell to await release. DEA spokeswoman Amy Roderick said he was accidentally left there.

"I had to recycle my own urine," he said. "I had to do what I had to do to survive."

He scratched a message to his mom because he thought he was going to die from dehydration.  He also claims that the lights were left off for days, and he could hear agents outside but no matter how loudly he shouted, they never heard him.  That seems strange, but since he has the element of being right so far on his side, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

He also says that when they opened the door, a snide comment was made about the water he'd been asking for.  It sure sounds like this was on purpose and approved over the course of several days.

Move along, citizen.  There is nothing to see here.

Stop. I Hereby Revoke Your Right To Breed.

The grandparents of a 7-year-old Florida girl are facing several charges after they allegedly towed her in a plastic car behind their SUV—all while under the influence of alcohol.

The Herald Tribune reports that Paul J. Berloni, 49, is charged with driving under the influence, child endangerment and driving with a suspended license. Sarasota Sheriff's deputies say Berloni has been convicted on three prior DUIs. His wife, Belinda Jean Berloni, 47, faces one charge of child endangerment.

The granddaughter was reportedly not injured during the incident.

They pulled a child behind them in a plastic car, in speeds up to 10 miles per hour.  That may not sound fast, but we're talking a second-grader, who could have been killed or ruined forever.  She was tied with a couple of leashes.

Then factor in that they were drunk. I mean, it makes a crazy kind of sense because few people are that stupid while sober.  However, I have a hunch these two grandparents are stupid whether it's happy hour or not.

This is when I wish I had a Clue Bat and permission to beat the stupid out of them.

Hit Like A Kansas Tornado

If there's any red state "laboratory of democracy" where lunatic Republican economic theories get turned into applied legislation, it's Kansas.  If you want to know what Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, and the rest of the GOP Young Guns have up their sleeves for where you live, the Sunflower State is America's early warning system, and the state's working poor just got flattened by a fiscal EF5.  Salon's Andrew Leonard:

Last week, Kansas House and Senate negotiators agreed on a new tax plan that will sharply cut income taxes for wealthy state residents while at the same time raising taxes on the poor. The result, predictably, will be a shortfall in state revenue that will undoubtedly force additional cuts to state services.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities provides the analysis, but you don’t have to trust the left-leaning think tank for the spin. A newly formed group of retired Kansas Republican legislators are also declaring that enough is enough. The bottom line is this: If you’re wealthy enough and smart enough to structure your business affairs correctly, you can avoid both corporate taxes and income taxes. But if you’re poor, you will have to choose between whether you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, or a state-funded rebate on sales taxes charged on groceries. One or the other! Not both! Because if there is a tax loophole that favors working-class Americans, we’d better close it!

The details are different, but the basic outline is similar to the ideas codified in Paul Ryan’s Mitt-Romney-endorsed budget: we’ll pay for tax cuts for the wealthy by cutting services that help the poor. Mitt Romney might not be as conservative as Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, but when the bills passed by a GOP-controlled legislature start arriving on his desk, his response will be identical: he’ll sign it.

Meanwhile, the state plans to cut the top tax rate on the wealthy from 6.45% to 4.9%, and eliminate corporate taxes completely by 2017.  Also, the state plans to repeal a "majority" of itemized deductions.  And yes, most residents would have to then choose between the earned income tax credit or the grocery refund...and not get both.  The bottom line:  business owners in the state would get a massive tax break,while workers would have to pick up most of the tab.  Kansas schools would also became dangerously underfunded, and the tax break that Kansas residents would have gotten on food by eliminating sales taxes on groceries has mysteriously vanished from the GOP tax plan.

Tornado alley indeed, except this one's ripping through the pocketbooks of Kansas working class citizens.  Pay attention, because these tax games are coming to a red state legislation and a GOP congress near you...

Bridge Over Troubled Logic

Kaplan Daily's official Obama scold, Glenn Kessler, has dropped yet another "four Pinocchios" on the President over bridges in my state of Kentucky.

“I sent them a jobs bill that would have put hundreds of thousands of construction workers back to work repairing our roads, our bridges, schools, transit systems, along with saving the jobs of cops and teachers and firefighters, creating a new tax cut for businesses. They said no. I went to the Speaker’s hometown, stood under a bridge that was crumbling. Everybody acknowledges it needs to be rebuilt. Maybe he doesn’t drive anymore. Maybe he doesn’t notice how messed up it was. They still said no. There are bridges between Kentucky and Ohio where some of the key Republican leadership come from, where folks are having to do detours an extra hour, hour-and-a-half drive every day on their commute because these bridges don’t work. They still said no.”

For this, Glenn throws the book at the President.

As we said before, we understand the need for symbolism. But that does not give a president license to stretch the facts.

Calling out the Republicans at the Brent Spence bridge was bad enough, given the bipartisan support for its reconstruction. But pointing to the Sherman Milton Bridge, which already has been repaired without funding from the president’s jobs bill, is ridiculous.

Perhaps the president was using outdated talking points, but that’s little excuse. Given that the president earned Three Pinocchios before, we have little choice but to up the ante this time.

Well, first of all the crack in the Sherman Minton in Louisville had been there since the beginning, and the repairs to fix it were far less extensive than originally thought. It was still a pain in the ass for four months out that way just as the president said. Meanwhile here in Cincy, construction season is currently adding about 30 minutes to my commute every afternoon. The problem is of course that the President is right about the Brent Spence. I live in northern Kentucky and I drive the Brent Spence every day to and from work in Cincy, it's in dire need of replacement because it's congested as hell and carries two interstates worth of traffic on just four lanes. And neither Kentucky Republicans nor Ohio Republicans want to pay for it.

The $2.4 billion Brent Spence Bridge replacement could receive final environmental approval from the Federal Highway Administration by the end of July, but what happens after that is anyone’s guess.

The project schedule calls for detailed design to begin in September, but neither Kentucky nor Ohio has enough funds to complete the phase – and it’s unclear whether they’ll get it this year.

Ohio needs $52.2 million and Kentucky needs $68 million to complete detailed design of the new bridge and the related overhaul of a 7.8-mile stretch of Interstate 75.

Normally that money would come from the federal government. And right now, that's being held up by Orange Julius and his motley crew of miscreants. Meanwhile, every month the bridge project is delayed costs the Cincinnati area $8 million. So yes, the Sherman Minton is fixed, but the Brent Spence replacement is in limbo right now and may remain so for a very long time. Construction may not start until 2015 as Kessler complains about, but Kessler fails to note that the design phase does start this year, and at least some money (as detailed above) will be needed by the end of the year, and that money is being blocked by Republicans. And personally, as a Kentucky taxpayer, I want this damn thing replaced along with the awful 3-lane 71/75 approach to the bridge through Kentucky. The sooner, the better.

Construction could begin in early 2015 – but only if funding is secured.

Backers of the project increasingly believe that Congress will not allocate any construction funding until Ohio, Kentucky and the Greater Cincinnati region come up with a plan to pay for the local match of at least 20 percent that is required.

And Kentucky lawmakers may attach strings of their own: some lawmakers want to see a plan for how to pay for construction before any money is allocated after Dec. 31, 2013.

And that's a big if. The Kentucky legislature is in special session hashing out the road bill this week, and Ohio is supposed to tackle the issue at some point. But it seems to me Kessler needs to get some of his own facts straight before dropping Pinocchios on folks.

StupidiNews!

• Syrian troops stormed an anti-Assad protest at a university in Aleppo, killing four and injuring 28, according to rebel activists.
• News Corp's board announced it has "full confidence" in embattled chairman Rupert Murdoch after British lawmakers deemed him unfit to lead a major international company.
• Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich officially announced his departure from the GOP presidential field in Virginia on Wednesday, apologizing to supporters.
• Federal authorities have charged 107 people in a multi-state Medicare fraud operation that bilked taxpayers out of $452 million, including 59 in the Miami area.
• Internet security researchers say for the first time, the Android operating system is being targeted by malware that automatically installs on phones when they visit infected sites.

Last Call

Your Chart Of The Day comes from TPM, showing the percentage change in hourly compensation and hourly productivity since 1948:

Any questions as to what anti-union and anti-labor policies have done for the American worker since 1970 or so? Wages have stagnated for 40 years now. If the minimum wage had kept pace with productivity, Americans would be making 17 bucks an hour or so at the floor. Instead, those massive productivity gains have been going straight to the CEOs and shareholders. No wonder our economy crashed. Now these same people say Americans need to pay more to support tax cuts for the people at the top. Unreal greed on a staggering scale, folks.

The GOP's Big Love

One of the more interesting battles in the House this year will be for Utah's newly-created 4th congressional district as the state has gained a House seat after the 2010 Census, consisting of the areas in and around Salt Lake City.  It's pitting current Utah Democrat Jim Matheson of the 2nd district (who has now seen all the urban vote split and moved into the new 4th) against Saratoga Springs mayor Mia Love, who surprised everyone in April's primary by becoming the first African-American Mormon woman to become a congressional candidate in the state.

Love, who has attracted lots of national Republican support, also stands out because of her religion: She’s a Mormon. The politician is a poster child for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ campaign to present a more diverse face to a historically very white church.

“There are a lot of people who have tried to define me as a person,” Love, a daughter of Haitian immigrants, told CNN’s Kyra Phillips in an interview Tuesday. “I’m not a victim, and I don’t allow anybody to put me in a box.”

Speaking from Salt Lake City, she said, “There may be some challenges. But ... I love this place and love the people that are here, and I represent their beliefs and values.”

Love is featured in a video series produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of its “I’m a Mormon” campaign, which aims to bring the faith of about 14 million members worldwide into the mainstream.

In the CNN interview, Love talked about how Mormonism would affect Mitt Romney’s candidacy more than her own, which is happening in the most Mormon state in the nation.

“You know I don’t think those are the issues that Americans really care about,” Love said when asked about the role of Romney’s religion in the presidential campaign. “I think Americans care about jobs, the economy; they care about the debt and deficit spending. … Being a Mormon is part of who he is as a person, and I don’t think it should deter from the issues.”

I'm glad that Mia Love is expanding people's views in the state, lord knows Utah needs it.  But her political stance is pure Tea Party nutjob.

If elected in November, Love would be the first black Republican woman in Congress and Utah's first black representative. She said she would join the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, D.C., should she win.

"Yes, yes. I would join the Congressional Black Caucus and try to take that thing apart from the inside out," she said.

Though officially nonpartisan, the caucus has been more closely identified with the Democratic Party.

"It’s demagoguery. They sit there and ignite emotions and ignite racism when there isn’t," Love said. "They use their positions to instill fear. Hope and change is turned into fear and blame. Fear that everybody is going lose everything and blaming Congress for everything instead of taking responsibility."

The caucus isn't the only thing Love said she would dismantle in Washington. The departments of education and energy must go, she said. States, she said, should take back those duties along with health care.

Needless to say, the Republicans would dearly want to have Mia Love as the new face of their big tent.  Unfortunately she's being used to see their same old crazy ideas.  Take apart the Congressional Black Caucus from the inside, because why should African-Americans have a group in Congress?  Good grief, she's Allen West in heels.

Democrat Joe Matheson is going to need some help, as the national GOP will certainly be invested in Love's win.  Polls taken before the primary showed Matheson had a narrow lead at best against any of his GOP challengers, including Love.  You can bet Karl Rove and his Crossroads buddies are going to try to bury Matheson under a tsunami of cash tying him to the Obama administration, which is annoying because he's one of the few remaining Blue Dogs in the House right now and voted against the PPACA, raising the debt limit, for the 2011 GOP House budget, he's got a lousy NARAL record (30%), etc. but he voted for Dodd-Frank and a number of other regulatory issues.

But if the choice in Utah's 4th is between a Blue Dog and the female version of Allen West, I'm going with the Blue Dog every time.  Period. 

Totally Organic Assistance

I normally append the Privacy Stupidity tag on to just about any Facebook story (because Mark Zuckerberg owns the 64,000 ton Privacyosaurus in your family room and increasingly at your workplace) but every now and then the beastie learns a trick that really does help the planet out.

On Tuesday, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg released a joint statement announcing a new feature. Users in the U.S. and the U.K. can now add a new post to their Timelines, the individual chronological life histories on the website, indicating when they decided to register as an organ donor.

The new feature can be found in the “Life Event” tab at the top of a user’s profile page, located immediately below the “About” section.

After clicking “Life Event,” a user can choose between five categories. Clicking “Health and Wellness,” the user can see a list of options to add to their Timeline, and “Organ donor” is at the top. Clicking it, a user can choose to share with specific groups of Friends or the public at large that he or she has registered.

If a user isn’t yet a registered organ donor or would like to become one, Facebook has also attached a database to the tool directing users to their official local registry. 

Organ donor registrations were up Tuesday by 800% or so over normal.  I'm pretty sure that Facebook might be able to give such a movement legs.  If you do decide to become a donor on Facebook, make sure you've registered on your state's official registry too.  The Facebook organ donor page does have a link to the various state registries, so make it official, folks.

Pretty awesome, Facebook.  Pretty awesome.

And Speaking Of Bullying...

And in a textbook Republican move, they are now pushing to remove mention of anything that might possibly lead to sexual thoughts.  In high school.

This is crazy.  Just crazy.

Sticking your head in the sand hoping something will go away simply will not work.  I tried, and Sarah Palin is still around.  Pretending teenagers won't have sex or experiment with sexuality is not only insane, it's putting them at risk for disease and ruined lives through unwanted pregnancies.  Just so some smarmy, equally sinful folks can feel good about the hoops they made you jump through.

And now they have sent a bill to Gov. Bill Haslam that would bar sex-ed teachers in public schools from promoting “gateway” sexual activity. Teachers must “exclusively and emphatically” endorse abstinence or risk a $500 fine. They may mention contraceptives only in the context of pointing out their inferiority to simply not having sex.

This bill is a disaster in the making: It relies on the definition of sexual activity in state law, which includes any contact with even the clothed inner thigh of another person. Critics say it’s so vaguely written that if a teacher doesn’t stop a student from sitting in another person’s lap, he could face punishment.

But don’t get the wrong idea. Tennessee’s Republican legislators know the government can only do so much to enforce morality. Last year, they revised an anti-bullying law so as to exempt anyone who voices a religiously motivated belief.

Sure, said Rep. Jeremy Faison, a few teenagers committed suicide after getting bullied about their sexuality, but “they committed suicide because they were not instilled the proper principles of where their self-esteem came from at home.”

“We can’t continue to legislate everything,” he said.

Only when it suits them, and works against the people they view as enemies.  Never mind the fact that "those people" were citizens given the same rights and protection, right?

Bullying Not A Problem? Really?

It amazes me how the topic of bullying, which people have endured since Cain slew Abel, has divided the popular crowd.  To further complicate the matter, we have people who claim bullying any time someone hurts their little snowflake's feelings.

And then we have this.

SAVANNAH, Mo. — A teenager appeared in court Monday for allegedly pouring gasoline on a child and then setting that child on fire.

The child sustained first- and second-degree burns on his face, right arm and in his nose and throat on April 19. The child was transferred from Heartland Regional Medical Center to the Kansas University Hospital burn center for treatment.

The state charged Joseph Gardner, 17, with first-degree assault for the alleged burning. Court records alleged that the teenager threatened to hit the child in the face unless he let Mr. Gardner pour the gasoline. Mr. Gardner allegedly threatened to murder the child and his family if he told anyone about his bullying.

According to a probable cause statement filed by Tommy Hudson, an Andrew County sheriff’s deputy, after allegedly setting the child on fire, the defendant stood there and laughed.

I really don't think kids are born evil, but this has to be the exception that proves the rule.  This is more than hormonal aggression, or mommy issues.  This goes so far beyond bullying that I don't think it belongs in the same ballpark.

Still, maybe cases like this will bring  about change. Maybe this is what it will take, which is scary but if it works I'll call it a victory.

The Promised Land

If you're wondering what the PUMA contingent of the Democrats Who Aren't Sure If They Should Vote For Obama Or Not are up to, Taylor Marsh is a pretty reliable weather vane when it comes to accepting the Big Dog is backing POTUS.

What many anti-Obama Democrats simply will not accept is that when your average Democratic voter meets his or her choices inside the voting booth, looking at Mitt Romney’s willingness to adopt Paul Ryan austerity, as well as the hard right’s war on women, there isn’t a more practical choice than to pull the lever for Pres. Obama, even if it requires holding your nose to do it.

Pres. Clinton’s presence makes this more palatable.

Yeah, it's not like Obama actually did anything other than stop Hillary from winning and ushering in a Golden Age of something or other, but at least he's letting Big Dog play, right?

Who should really be holding their nose is the people who backed President Obama the whole way, putting up with insufferable egotists like Taylor here, because we have to accept that her statement is more or less correct.  We need the votes to stop Romney and his GOP nutjob friends, period.

Of course, let's not forget Taylor's real goal here:

Left out in the cold are The Gays, as Kathy Griffin would say. Neither Obama or Romney have the courage required to make equality a reality for all families. In 2016, you can bet Republicans still won’t be on board with that one, but just maybe if Hillary Clinton runs she will. 

Yep.  Why would LGBT people vote at all, especially when, you know, Hillary husband gave us DADT and Obama ended it?  Hmm.

Meanwhile In Afghanistan

President Obama made a trip to Afghanistan on Tuesday, sending a clear message on the anniversary of Bin Laden capture and death, and signed a deal with Afghan President Karzai to lay out the plan to leave.

“As we emerge from a decade of conflict abroad and economic crisis at home, it is time to renew America. An America where our children live free from fear, and have the skills to claim their dreams. A united America of grit and resilience, where sunlight glistens off soaring new towers in downtown Manhattan, and we build our future as one people, as one nation."

The details of the Afghan deal are pretty specific: 

The agreement, completed after 20 months of arduous negotiations in Washington and Kabul, pledges American support for Afghanistan for 10 years after the withdrawal of the last American soldiers at the end of 2014. More symbol than substance, it nevertheless marks a pivotal transition for the United States from the largest foreign military force in Afghanistan to a staunch, if faraway, ally. 

For the president, facing a re-election battle in which his conduct of the war is likely to be debated into November, the visit is laden with political significance. Senior officials said the agreement showcased Mr. Obama’s determination to end the war responsibly, even as they conceded that the country that American troops leave behind will be a messy, violent place, where the Taliban will keep a foothold. 

Still, the agreement, a senior administration official told reporters traveling on Air Force One, will give the United States “the capacity to carry out the counterterrorism operations that are necessary for Al Qaeda not to resettle,” and help ensure “a regional equilibrium that serves our national security interest — and that’s ultimately why we went in there in the first place.” 

No doubt Republicans will tell us that having a timetable is an impeachable offense, and the usual suspects on the left will tell us having even one support troop in place is worthy of letting Mitt Romney win the White House.

On the other hand, he's ended the war in Iraq and is now ending the war in Afghanistan.  There will also be no permanent bases there, unlike every other US war that we've fought in the last 70 years or so.  No, the GOP wants to fight the President on his foreign policy accomplishments?  Go right ahead, gentlemen.

Last Call

• As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepares for high level talks with Beijing this week, China is demanding an apology as blind activist Cheng Guangcheng has left the US embassy there.
• Mitt Romney's openly gay foreign policy spokesman, Richard Grenell, has resigned after just two weeks due to sharp criticism from social conservative Republicans.
• May Day protests in Seattle have left what city officials are terming "thousands and thousands" of dollars in damage as police made five arrests.
• More wealthy Americans are renouncing their citizenship and remaining in Switzerland in the wake of last year's overseas tax evasion crackdown by the IRS.
• The latest browser share numbers find as many as one-third of Firefox users are using out of date versions of the software, leaving them vulnerable to outside threats.