March 27, 2015

GOP’s “religious freedom” riot: How a bigoted Indiana law could roil GOP primary

Ted Cruz will love Mike Pence's new law protecting anti-gay discrimination -- but here's why Jeb and Rand may not

SIMON MALOY

The rapid realignment of public and judicial opinion over the last decade toward gay rights has embroiled the Christian right in an existential crisis. That’s the way they see it, at least, which is why they’re framing the advance of gay rights in America as an assault on “religious freedom” generally, and Christianity specifically. It’s a bogus argument – the religious freedoms of Christian conservatives are not and never have been dependent upon the denial of rights to gay people – but the cause is being championed by conservatives in state governments who have moved to pass laws protecting discrimination against gays as an expression of “religious freedom.”

One of those conservatives is Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law yesterday. The law will allow business owners who refuse to provide services to gay people to cite their religious beliefs in their own defense if they end up getting sued. The idea here is to broaden the notion of what the government should consider to be an expression of faith to include the exchange of money for goods and services. Even worse, this law and others like it are written very broadly and could allow for all manner of discriminatory behavior.

As you might imagine, the Indiana law is extraordinarily controversial. Paul Waldman, writing at the Washington Post, notes that the controversy over the law could very easily spill over into the 2016 Republican presidential nominating contest:

The more news this Indiana law gets, the more likely it is that it will become an issue in the presidential primaries. And it fits neatly within the key divide among Republicans: on one side you could have business groups that are nervous about negative economic impacts and strategists who don’t want the GOP to be known as the party of discrimination, while on the other side you have candidates eager for the votes of religious right primary voters.

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http://www.salon.com/2015/03/27/gops_religious_freedom_riot_how_a_bigoted_indiana_law_could_roil_gop_primary/

March 27, 2015

Gohmert Floats 2016 Run, Then Takes It Back: There Can Be No 'Bald Presidents'

Conservative firebrand Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) had a little fun with reporters Thursday when he floated a presidential run and then retracted it, citing his baldness.

Gohmert seemed to be open to a White House bid when The Hill asked whether he would support fellow Texan Sen. Ted Cruz's (R) 2016 presidential campaign.

"Ted is a good friend and would be an outstanding President; however, I haven't ruled out an exploratory committee myself," Gohmert told the publication.

Later, a Gohmert aide told the Texas Tribune that the congressman was being ironic. The aide said Gohmert believed his lack of hair would be a major hindrance to trying to run for president. “To more completely describe his actual beliefs, Congressman Gohmert notes the Kennedy-Nixon debates created a line of demarcation beyond which television became the critical factor in being elected President which also meant there would be no more bald Presidents in his lifetime," an email from Gohmert's office read, as quoted by the Tribune.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/louie-gohmert-president-baldness

March 27, 2015

Chris Christie Calls Tax Revenue From Legal Marijuana 'Blood Money'

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie (R) described taxes on legal marijuana as "blood money" and said that states that legalize the drug "put the lives of children and citizens at risk" for financial gain, the Asbury Park Press reported Thursday.

"I've had many taxpayers at town hall meetings who will ask me about, why not legalize marijuana to make the taxes go a little higher?" Christie said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a New Jersey drug-treatment facility Wednesday. "To me, that's blood money."

Christie said he would not "put the lives of children and citizens at risk to put a little more money into the state coffers." He added that "every bit of objective data" shows that marijuana is a "gateway drug."

"It is not an excuse in our society to say that alcohol is legal, so why not make marijuana legal," he said. "Why not make heroin legal? Why not make cocaine legal? You know, their argument is a slippery slope."

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/chris-christie-marijuana-blood-money

March 26, 2015

Dem Senator Devised A Fantastic Response To Tom Cotton's Iran Letter

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) would like to prevent Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) from sending any more letters to Iranian leaders about the nuclear deal, prompting her to file an amendment to block just that.

She introduced an amendment on Wednesday that would defund "the purchase of stationary or electronic devices for the purpose of members of Congress or congressional staff communicating with foreign governments and undermining the role of the President as Head of State in international nuclear negotiations on behalf of the United States," according to the Huffington Post.

Cotton sent a letter to Iranian leaders earlier in March warning them against a nuclear deal with the U.S. and its allies. The letter signed by 47 Republican senators may have backfired, however, as it could keep Congress from passing a bill to require that Congress review any nuclear deal made by the Obama administration.

Members of the administration, as well as some Republicans, criticized the letter. Secretary of State John Kerry called the letter "unconstitutional" and inappropriate. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Corker (R-TN), who did not sign the letter, said it was not "constructive."

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/stabenow-amendment-cotton-iran-letter

March 26, 2015

Paul Reverses Position on Defense Spending

“Just weeks before announcing his 2016 presidential bid, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is completing an about-face on a longstanding pledge to curb the growth in defense spending,” Time reports.

“In an olive branch to defense hawks hell-bent on curtailing his White House ambitions, the libertarian Senator introduced a budget amendment late Wednesday calling for a nearly $190 billion infusion to the defense budget over the next two years—a roughly 16 percent increase.”

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http://p.feedblitz.com/r3.asp?l=103509486&f=17571&u=37190363&c=4916883

March 26, 2015

Why Ted Cruz Is a Threat to Scott Walker

E.J. Dionne: “Although Cruz has always been a religious conservative, the senator from Texas is much better known for his crusade against Obamacare and his willingness to shut down the federal government. His evangelical turn is his first play to create a base on the right end of the party to challenge Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker as the main alternative to Jeb Bush.”

“The Cruz strategy starts with marginalizing former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Ben Carson, the physician and best-selling author who has developed a significant following on the right. Huckabee and Carson are also in the running for evangelical votes. If Cruz pushes them aside, he can then go after Walker and, after that, Bush. Perhaps all this is fanciful, but Cruz knows what he’s doing.”

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http://p.feedblitz.com/r3.asp?l=103509482&f=17571&u=37190363&c=4916883

March 26, 2015

Adulterer dating website: Most of our members our Christians — ‘it is incredibly ironic’

A dating website that helps people in the United Kingdom engage in extramarital affairs says that most of its members are of the Christian faith.

The website IllicitEncounters.com said there are more than ten Christian adulterers for every one atheist.

“It’s incredibly ironic that atheists are more faithful than Christians,” Claire Page, spokesperson for IllicitEncounters, said. “It proves the argument that what some people perceive as immoral – like adultery – isn’t increased by the lack of spiritual guidance. If the only reason you don’t kill someone, or steal, or covet thy neighbor’s wife, is because it tells you not to in the Bible, to me, that’s a lot more worrying.”

“To me, that says you can’t think for yourself what is right and wrong. Besides, for us and our 987,000 customers, we don’t look at affairs like most people do. There are many reasons people have affairs, it’s not as black and white as some people think.”

The website conducted a survey of its members, and found only 6 percent described themselves as atheists, while 64 percent classified themselves as Christian.

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/adulterer-dating-website-most-of-our-members-our-christians-it-is-incredibly-ironic/

March 26, 2015

Baton Rouge Emergency Room Closing Shows Cost Of Obamacare Fight

By Margaret Newkirk, Bloomberg News(TNS)

ATLANTA — A Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hospital is closing the only emergency room on the city’s impoverished north side, a real-world ripple effect of the ideological clash over President Barack Obama’s health care law.

The shutdown on April first serves as an early warning for hospitals in states like Louisiana, where Republican Governor Bobby Jindal turned down federal money to expand the Medicaid program for the poor. Charity hospitals will lose billions of federal aid beginning late next year, a cut that was supposed to be offset as more residents were covered by Medicaid.

The combination is a looming “double whammy,” said Shawn Gremminger, a lobbyist for America’s Essential Hospitals in Washington, which represents those that care for the poor. “It’s not survivable,” he said. “Hospitals are going to close.”

In Louisiana, Baton Rouge General’s Mid City hospital was already caught in that vise. It was flooded with the uninsured after a nearby charity hospital was closed. Louisiana provided a one-time injection of funds last year from the federal aid program that’s about to be cut. With that money gone, the hospital is closing the emergency room.

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http://www.nationalmemo.com/baton-rouge-emergency-room-closing-shows-cost-of-obamacare-fight/

March 26, 2015

Indiana businesses speak out online and in store against religious freedom bill

By Naomi Pescovitz, WTHR Weekend Sunrise anchor

INDIANAPOLIS -
Businesses across the state are echoing Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's sentiment against the so-called religious freedom bill.

Dozens of local companies now say they must make it clear that they are open to business to everyone. The movement is growing quickly, especially on Massachusetts Avenue.

At Silver in the City on Mass Ave, everyone and nearly everything is welcome.

"My dog comes to work with me every day. She's always here. We allow dogs. If you wanted to bring your cat in, we allow cats strollers. We just don't discriminate. There's no reason to," said SarahKate Chamness, promotions manager at Silver in the City.

It wasn't until this month, however, that management felt they needed a little blue sticker to prove that message.

Hoosier Josh Driver started the "Open for Service" sticker campaign along with a website, Twitter and Facebook account. There are now stickers up in businesses in 23 states and Australia.

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http://www.wthr.com/story/28615301/local-businesses-speak-out-online-and-in-store-against-religious-freedom-bill

Businesses along Mass. Ave. are using these stickers to make a stand.

March 26, 2015

WATCH: Texas parents blast lawmakers for anti-gay bill that makes their son a ‘second class citizen’

In the video embedded below, the parents of a gay Texas man movingly addressed the state House as it debated a measure outlawing same-sex marriage in the state, even if the courts declare that the practice is legal.

Richard and Jimmie Sue Francis were protesting Texas House Bill 1745, a Republican-sponsored measure that would, according to the Texas Tribune, “give the secretary of state, and not county clerks, sole control over marriage licenses in Texas, and prohibit issuing licenses to same-sex couples even if courts overturn the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.”

“I’m Jimmie Sue Francis and I am against House Bill 1745,” began Mrs. Francis. “My husband and I have a 47-year-old gay son who is so very proud to be a native Texan. I ask each of you to look into your heart,” she continued, “and consider the grave circumstances of approving House Bill 1745, which will serve to confirm and make permanent my son’s devalued status as an official, government-sanctioned second class citizen in his beloved state.”

Richard Francis said, “I go to my church and I hear love and inclusion. I come to my Capitol and I hear hate and exclusion. I can feel that difference…and that bothers me about my government.”

more
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/watch-texas-parents-blast-lawmakers-for-anti-gay-bill-that-makes-their-son-a-second-class-citizen/