Arizona’s abortion law is unconstitutional, according to a federal appeals court. About a year ago, the state banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy except in medical emergencies. But a circuit court now ruled that the government has no right to ban an abortion before a fetus “is viable.” The judge said the state “may not proscribe a woman from electing abortion, nor may it impose an undue burden on her choice through regulation.” Time will tell what this ruling means—particularly in other states with tough abortion restrictions such as North Dakota, which has banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

The Hill:

“Today’s decision is a huge victory in the fight to protect women’s fundamental reproductive rights, and it should send a clear message to anti-choice politicians that their attempts to deprive pregnant women of critical health care are clearly unconstitutional and will not hold up in court," said Sally Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

DOWNLOADS: (25)

PLAYS: (263)

Embed

The Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in Virginia says that he is a Christian and has no reason to apologize for his history against of hate speech against LGBT people, liberals and abortion providers.

It was only after African-American minister E.W. Jackson won the nomination at the Virginia Republican Party Convention last week that many became aware of his history of saying gay people were "perverted" and "sick people psychologically."

"Homosexuality is a horrible sin, it poisons culture, it destroys families, it destroys societies; it brings the judgment of God unlike very few things that we can think of," he said last year.

He has also called Democrats "slave masters" and compared Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan."

"Liberalism and their ideas have done more to kill black folks whom they claim so much to love than the Ku Klux Klan, lynching and slavery and Jim Crow ever did, now that’s a fact," Jackson said in a 2012 interview.

On Tuesday, Jackson told reporters that he had no intention of apologizing.

"I say the things that I say because I’m a Christian, not because I hate anybody, but because I have religious values that matter to me," Jackson told reporters during a campaign event in Fredericksburg, according to The Washington Post. "Attacking me because I hold to those principles is attacking every church-going person, every family that’s living a traditional family life, everybody who believes that we all deserve the right to live."

"So I don’t have anything to rephrase or apologize for. I would just say people should not paint me as one-dimensional."

Thomas Jefferson must be rolling in his grave:

If a woman in Virginia has a miscarriage without a doctor present, they must report it within 24 hours to the police or risk going to jail for a full year. At least, that’s what would have happened if a bill introduced by Virginia state Sen. Mark Obenshain (R) had become law.

And yet, the Virginia Republican Party wants to make Obenshain into the state’s top prosecutor. This weekend, Virginia Republicans selected Obenshain as their nominee to replace tea party stalwart Ken Cuccinelli (R) as the state’s attorney general.

Under Obenshain’s bill, which was introduced in 2009,

When a fetal death occurs without medical attendance upon the mother at or after the delivery or abortion, the mother or someone acting on her behalf shall, within 24 hours, report the fetal death, location of the remains, and identity of the mother to the local or state police or sheriff’s department of the city or county where the fetal death occurred. No one shall remove, destroy, or otherwise dispose of any remains without the express authorization of law-enforcement officials or the medical examiner. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Under Virginia law, a Class 1 misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of “confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500,” so Obenshain’s bill could lead to a woman who decides to take a day to grieve the loss of a pregnancy she’d hoped to carry to term spending a year of her life in jail for that decision.

Unless all the normal people turn out in massive numbers to vote, you can kiss sanity goodbye for this state.

When I was writing my book on the history of American political debate and change - The Progressive Revolution: How The Best In America Came To Be - in 2008, I was doing some research on the sequence of events in the 1960s, I was struck by the fact that so many big things happened so close together. As I wrote in my book:

"The civil rights movement inspired other progressives not only to help in the civil rights cause but also to come together around a range of other issues and constituencies. A renewed wave of feminism was sparked in great part by Betty Friedan's influential book The Feminine Mystique. The environmental movement gained broad public appeal when Rachel Carson's Silent Spring became a best seller. Students began to organize themselves. The Port Huron statement, written by Tom Hayden and others, prompted young people to get involved in politics through the student and antiwar movements. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was founded. Cesar Chavez used many of King's organizing tactics, as well as new ones of his own, to unionize farm workers in the agricultural fields of California. And as the 1960s wore on, progressives of all stripes looked with growing concern at the Vietnam War and began to protest in earnest against it.

Continue reading »

Carmen is a 23 year-old fighting to keep her family's home. Yesterday she was electrocuted by a taser at the Department of Justice while peacefully protesting with Occupy Our Homes and the Home Defenders League for her rights as a homeowner.

Call President Obama at (202) 456-1111 and tell him to arrest bankers, not homeowners.

Occupiers, allies and community members from across the country came together in front of the DOJ to demand that Attorney General Eric Holder arrest the bankers responsible for upending the international economy through the housing crisis.

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (28)

PLAYS: (292)

Embed

This morning, Lois Lerner went before a Congressional committee and invoked the Fifth amendment with regard to her role in the selection process for challenging applications for tax-exempt status.

“I have not done anything wrong,” she said. “I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations. And I have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee.” But on the advice of counsel, she said, she would not answer questions or testify before the committee.

Lerner is the official in charge of the tax-exempt division of the IRS. She is the top of the top of the food chain when it comes to how the agency conducted itself in the selection and treatment of applications for exemptions. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, she has managed to avoid getting the axe.

Continue reading »

Link:

An active duty soldier was “beheaded” Wednesday afternoon in London by machete-wielding assailants who were shot by police moments later, British media outlets reported.

The man was reportedly stationed at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London, near the location of the attack. Luke Huseyin, who witnessed the attack, told The Telegraph that he noticed the commotion after two dark-skinned men emerged from a wrecked vehicle dragging another man.

He went on, explaining:

They started slashing him up with the knife and hitting him in the stomach with the machete. I don’t think it took long before he was dead. There were people passing by who were screaming and running away. I’ve never seen anything like it.

He added that it took about 20 minutes for police to arrive, during which time the men just stood and waited for them. When they arrived, the men allegedly ran at police brandishing weapons, only to be shot down.

A photo of one of the attackers was published on Britain’s 4 News, showing a black man in a black jacket holding two large knives, his hands covered with blood. An eyewitness told the channel that the men said they “wanted to give a message to the British government” in retaliation for military deployment on Arab lands.

“He was getting people to take photos of him,” the man explained in audio published online. “He was standing there crazed like, ‘Take photos of me!’ Like he wanted to be on TV.”

Continue reading »

DOWNLOADS: (103)

PLAYS: (2150)

Embed

Things didn't go quite according to plan when CNN's intrepid reporter Wolf Blitzer asked one of those cliché questions reporters always seem to ask survivors of natural disasters.

WOLF BLITZER: “You’re blessed. Brian, your husband is blessed. Anders is blessed… I guess you got to thank the Lord, right?”

REBECCA: *Shrug*

WOLF BLITZER: (Insisting) “Do you thank the Lord for that split-second decision?”

REBECCA: “I–I’m actually an atheist,” (Awkward laughs) “We are here and you know, I don’t blame anybody for thanking the Lord.”

WOLF BLITZER: "Of course not."

Perfect.

Scandal Fatigue: n. A condition whereupon suffers "can't F'ing BELIEVE these partisan, government and/or corporate media pricks are crying victim to actions they themselves have been guilty of for the last 40 years and FLOODING the airwaves with this crap when there are REAL scandals out there to cover and actual work to be done."

Sufferers of Scandal Fatigue often exhibit tell-tale symptoms such as the sudden uncontrollable urge to rant, either publicly or by audibly grumbling to oneself; increased anxiety; and a strong desire to self-sooth by watching internet cat videos. In severe cases, suffers may start to believe that Meet The Press is a balanced national conversation. Seek immediate attention if Fox News starts sounding rational.

Luckily today there's a cure: fast-acting Absurdity Today with Julianna Forlano. Taken weekly alongside your regular dosage of independent media, and Real Time/ Daily Show/ Colbert Report /Viewpoint regimen, Absurdity Today can arrest your symptoms in under two minutes.*

Side effects include increased mirth, feelings of well being without dampening the desire or ability to be an active participant in democracy, spontaneous laughter but not in the crazy way, and a sense of community.

Watch this video to see if Absurdity Today is right for you!

*These statements have not been approved by the FDA probably because they are true.

Somehow, I'm not all that surprised that we went from this hopeful news on Ed's show in February to this crashing disappointment in May. We can say that in this case, the bad guys clearly won -- assuming, of course, that you believe sick people have the right to know what they're ingesting:

On May 16, the Obama Interior Department announced its long-awaited rules governing hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") on federal lands.

As part of its 171-page document of rules, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), part of the U.S. Dept. of Interior (DOI), revealed it will adopt theAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) model bill written by ExxonMobil for fracking chemical fluid disclosure on U.S. public lands.

Continue reading »