May 1, 2014

GOP State Lawmaker Writes Letter To Editor About Dangers Of Anal Sex

TOM KLUDT – MAY 1, 2014, 3:26 PM EDT

When he learned that South Dakota is poised to become the latest state to face a legal challenge against its same-sex marriage ban, Steve Hickey was inspired to take action.

The Republican state House representative and pastor submitted a letter to the editor this week to the Argus Leader, South Dakota's largest newspaper. He titled it "A One Way Alley for the Garbage Truck" and challenged the "medical and psychological communities" to weigh in on the matter.

"I'm asking the doctors who practice in our state, is the science really settled on this issue or is it more the case that you feel silenced and intimidated?" Hickey wrote in the letter, which he posted on his Facebook page.

He didn't waste any time getting to the point.

"Certainly there are board-certified doctors in our state who will attest to what seems self-evident to so many: gay sex is not good for the body or mind," he wrote. "Pardon a crude comparison but regarding men with men, we are talking about a one-way alley meant only for the garbage truck to go down. Frankly, I’d question the judgment of doctor who says it’s all fine."

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/steve-hickey-anal-sex-letter-south-dakota

May 1, 2014

CNN Rep Mocks Scarborough: He's 'Become Unhinged' Over His Low Ratings

TOM KLUDT – MAY 1, 2014, 4:52 PM EDT

Things have gotten so bad for MSNBC that it's making CNN look good.

A story this week in the New York Times captured the dismal state of affairs for the liberal cable news channel, which saw its ratings in April fall to their lowest mark in seven years. Compounding matters for MSNBC: "Morning Joe," a flagship program that serves as a reliable supplier of conventional wisdom, fell to third place among its cable news competition.

While "Fox & Friends" continued its dominance, CNN's "New Day" actually surpassed the MSNBC gabfest hosted by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

It represents quite a triumph for CNN, the long-suffering (and widely mocked) channel that enjoyed a ratings boost during its wall-to-wall coverage of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane.

Scarborough did not take the development well, telling the Times that "“CNN has made itself a punch line on the ‘Daily Show’ for its phony breaking-news headlines and breathless coverage of random ocean debris.”

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cnn-joe-scarborough-ratings-unhinged

May 1, 2014

LGBT Ugandans dying in ‘crimes against humanity’

Nikki Mawanda was 13 when his stepfather kicked him out of his family’s home because he thought he was a lesbian.

The executive director of Trans Support Initiative-Uganda, a group that advocates for transgender and intersex people in the East African country, had returned home late after visiting his girlfriend.

Mawanda, 32, told the Washington Blade during an emotional interview on April 28 that he heard noises coming from his mother’s bedroom. He said he opened the door and found his stepfather strangling her because “she gave birth to me.”

“I was sent out,” said Mawanda. “Then there was a big fight. Neighbors, so many people came.” Mawanda, who now identifies as trans and uses male pronouns, spoke with the Blade slightly more than two months after President Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law that imposes a life sentence upon anyone found guilty of repeated same-sex sexual acts. Reports this week emerged that Ugandan lawmakers are slated to introduce a measure that would ban non-profit organizations from promoting homosexuality.

Mawanda is among those included in a list of “200 top homos” that a Ugandan tabloid published after Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. -

See more at: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2014/04/30/lgbt-ugandans-dying/

May 1, 2014

CA golf coach tried to hire hitman to kill three teens he is accused of molesting: prosecutors

By Travis Gettys
Thursday, May 1, 2014 14:05 EDT

A nationally recognized golf instructor charged with molesting some of his teenage students tried to hire a hit man to kill three of his victims, prosecutors said.

Andrew Nisbet was charged Tuesday with solicitation of murder, in addition to charges covering lewd acts with minors, arranging sexual meetings with minors, and possession of child pornography.

The 32-year-old Nisbet, of Livermore, California, was arrested in December after police said he molested three teens between 2007 and 2012 in a golf course parking lot, at his home, and on golfing trips.

Prosecutors said Nisbet exchanged letters with someone he believed could be hired to kill his victims.

But an informant tipped off a sheriff deputy at the jail, who then sent the letters Feb. 25 to the Alameda County District Attorney’s office.

Authorities said the letters contained information about the boys, and a county investigator posed as a hit man and visited Nisbet at the Santa Rita Jail.

The undercover investigator, who made a pistol gesture as he explained he was a mechanic who could “fix a car for him,” said Nisbet mouthed the victims’ names, told him where they lived, and promised to pay up front.

He told the investigator to take their cell phones to make their deaths appear to be robbery-related.

Authorities served a search warrant 10 days later on Nesbit’s cell, where they said they found driving directions to one victim’s home and other letters discussing the murder-for-hire plot.

Watch this video posted online by Andy Nisbet:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/01/ca-golf-coach-tried-to-hire-hitman-to-kill-three-teens-he-is-accused-of-molesting-prosecutors/

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May 1, 2014

Rape crisis center scolds Texas judge after she sentences rapist to work with victims there

By David Edwards
Thursday, May 1, 2014 11:39 EDT

A Texas judge who ordered a rapist to serve community service at a rape crisis center has been forced to reconsider the sentence.

In a police interview, Sir Young admitted that he had raped a 14-year-old girl in 2011 at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts when he was 18.

“I hate to have that on my plate. But that’s rape,” he told police.

According to The Dallas Observer, Young could have served 20 years in jail, but Dallas County District Judge Jeanine Howard showed him leniency during last week’s sentencing.

Howard ruled that Young would only have to spend 45 days in jail, but it was the “250 hours of community service at a rape crisis center” that shocked victim advocates.

“I’m sure she probably thought that it was his way of giving back perhaps,” Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center Executive Director Bobbie Villareal told WFAA. “But it’s just not an appropriate place for him to do his community supervision,”

“There’s just so many problems with that,” she pointed out. “First of all, we would worry about our client safety and well-being, the appropriateness of them having any kind of contact with survivors — even if it was a past victimization. Just having a criminal defendant in the office could be a triggering effect for many of our clients.”

So when the probation office called to arrange Young’s community service, Villareal answered with a firm “no.”

“[We] had a really nice conversation with them, but told them — first of all — that we have a strict policy on our volunteers,” she explained. “They can have no criminal backgrounds whatsoever.”

Jerry Barker, the court coordinator, said that Judge Howard would find another place for Young to serve out his sentence.

“The judge and the probation department are modifying his conditions,” Barker told WFAA. “They’re working on it right now. They’re going to come up with a different order for him to do his community service somewhere else.”

Villareal noted that the rest of Howard’s sentence was also an insult to rape survivors.

“It is a deterrent to all survivors when you see a very lenient sentence like this passed down,” Villareal observed. “It sends a devastating message to survivors of sexual assault. That victim’s family definitely didn’t feel like there was justice for her and for other survivors of sexual assault.”

Judge Howard has refused to comment while the case was still pending.

Watch the video below from WFAA, broadcast April 30, 2014.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/01/rape-crisis-center-scolds-texas-judge-after-she-sentences-rapist-to-work-with-victims-there/

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May 1, 2014

Pat Robertson: Don’t try to prove God exists to atheist ‘swine’ on Facebook and Twitter

By David Edwards
Thursday, May 1, 2014 13:10 EDT

TV preacher Pat Robertson on Thursday advised his viewers not to engage atheists — who he said were like “swine” — on social media about the existence of God.

During the viewer questions segment of Thursday’s 700 Club broadcast, one email asked about how to handle atheists who wanted to “argue” whether God was real.

“Whenever I post something on social media about my faith, many atheists comment that what I believe is wrong and try to argue about God’s existence,” the viewer named Christine explained. “Should I argue back and try to prove His existence or should I just ignore it?”

“You don’t have to do that,” Robertson replied. “The Bible also says you don’t have to cast your pearls before swine because they will turn and rend you.”

“A swine is hungry for nuts!” he exclaimed. “He wants chestnuts or whatever nuts he eats, and he roots in the ground. And you throw a precious pearl in front of him, and he thinks, ‘That is another nut, I want to eat it.’ And he starts to eat, and the thing doesn’t taste good. Then he gets mad, then he turns around, and he takes his tusk and he wants to gore you.”

Robertson continued: “You talk about the social media, you’ve got everybody known to man out there. But why would you put your pearls out, and why would you argue with those people? I mean, keep your stuff to yourself.”

Watch the video below from CBN’s The 700 Club, broadcast May 1, 2014.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/01/pat-robertson-dont-try-to-prove-god-exists-to-atheist-swine-on-facebook-and-twitter/

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Posted with permission

May 1, 2014

Scientific American Editor Flooded With Hate Tweets After Fox News Targets Him

CATHERINE THOMPSON – MAY 1, 2014, 12:13 PM EDT

Fox News sicced the Twitter trolls on a Scientific American editor on Thursday, a day after he revealed he was asked not to discuss climate change during an appearance on "Fox & Friends."

The hosts of "Fox & Friends" took their revenge against editor Michael Moyer on air Thursday morning for tweeting about his uncomfortable experience on the show. As host Steve Doocy put it, "we put him on, we have a nice conversation and then he stabs us in the back."

The show even aired a photo of Moyer's appearance along with the text "'Scientific' Coward."

But the hosts didn't stop there. They also asked viewers to tweet at Moyer if they didn't like the way he handled his appearance. And browsing through Twitter on late Thursday morning showed Fox viewers had responded en masse.

-snip-

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-news-targets-scientific-american-editor-hate-tweets

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Fox News Brands Scientific American Editor A 'Coward'

CATHERINE THOMPSON – MAY 1, 2014, 10:14 AM EDT

A Scientific American editor must have struck a nerve over at Fox News this week when he tweeted about having a "Fox & Friends" producer shoot down his idea to talk about the impacts of climate change on the show.

On Thursday morning, the hosts of "Fox & Friends" went off on editor Michael Moyer for tweeting about having an uncomfortable experience on the show. During the segment, they showed a photo of Moyer with text on the screen that labeled him a "'Scientific' Coward."

Hosts Steve Doocy, Anna Kooiman and Brian Kilmeade agreed they had a "nice chat" with Moyer on set when he appeared Wednesday. But they said Moyer apparently didn't feel the same way.

“Clearly he has a problem with Fox,” Doocy said. “So why did he come on? Clearly, it was just to promote himself, and maybe his magazine as well. But, you know, hashtag classy. We put him on, we have a nice conversation and then he stabs us in the back."

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-news-hosts-brand-scientific-american-editor-coward

May 1, 2014

British Officials Portrayed Reagan as a “Bozo”

WRITTEN BY Nico Hines and Ben Jacobs

In the early1980s, senior members of the British foreign service were appalled by what they saw as the American president’s bumbling ignorance and lack of interest in world affairs.

Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were often portrayed as geo-political soul mates, but government files declassified in London on Wednesday expose a deep British disdain for the president who was described in official papers as homophobic, uninformed, disinterested and, not to put too fine a point on it, “a Bozo.”

The British Foreign Office files seen by The Daily Beast show that Prime Minister Thatcher was warned President Reagan had little interest in world affairs and was unable to sustain a serious conversation about contemporary politics.

The damning critiques, which expressed sheer incredulity that this man could occupy the White House, were shared at the highest levels of government before and after Reagan’s first State Visit to Britain in 1982.

Despite the hostility of her advisors, Thatcher appeared to strike up a close relationship with Reagan based on their shared values. They loudly battled Communism together and were determined to vanquish the post-war economic consensus, which had been based on the work of John Maynard Keynes, in favor of trickle-down economics and low taxes.

Successive British ambassadors in Washington were deeply unimpressed with the former California governor, however. Sir Nicholas Henderson, who was in the job when Reagan was elected, described him as a dogmatic and simplistic man. “He has clear-cut opinions, not to say prejudices, as was apparent to me when he told me à propos Keynes that it must not be forgotten that he was a homosexual,” Henderson wrote in his United States Annual Review of 1981.

more
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/30/british-officials-portrayed-reagan-as-a-bozo.html

May 1, 2014

Meet Mary Burke, the Woman Who Could Beat Scott Walker

Eleanor Clift

She’s a political novice—and that may be what it takes to knock off Wisconsin’s governor, of whose jobs plan she says: ‘I’ve seen eighth-graders’ term papers that are more thoughtful.’

Republicans call her “Millionaire Mary,” but Mary Burke has plenty of assets aside from her wealth to make her a strong contender to derail the reelection of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, along with his dreams of the presidency. Polls show the former Trek Bicycle executive either tied with Walker or trailing by just a few percentage points, while the Republican governor, who weathered a recall election in 2012, looks headed for a closer race than anyone expected.

“Because of the divided electorate, this is going to be really close,” Burke told The Daily Beast. In the seven months since she announced her candidacy, the Democrat has put nearly 30,000 miles on her Ford Escape traveling the state. “It’s a good race of contrasts,” she says, citing her private sector business experience and her support for issues of particular interest to women, including access to abortion clinics.

“The things he has done with women’s choice issues puts Wisconsin right there with Mississippi,” she said over an iced tea Tuesday afternoon. Burke, who was in Washington for an Emily’s List dinner that night, has the pro-choice group’s endorsement, and it is making a big push to elect more Democratic women as governors.

“We only have one,” Burke marvels. “Who would have thought, with all the progress that’s been made,” that New Hampshire’s Maggie Hassan would be the only Democratic woman serving as governor. (Republicans have three.) Wendy Davis, the courageous state legislator running for governor in Texas, has been in the media spotlight, but she’s got a tough uphill race in a red state, while Burke, with a blend of private sector and public service, is ideally cast to give Walker a serious challenge.

more
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/01/meet-mary-burke-the-woman-who-could-beat-scott-walker.html

May 1, 2014

Russia Throws Soviet-Style Parade

Source: The Daily Beast

For for the first time since the Soviet Union dissolved, Russia is staging a huge May Day parade in Moscow's Red Square. The parade Thursday featured thousands marching past the mausoleum of Vladimir Lenin with flags of Russia and Putin's ruling United Russia Party. Many banners spoke to the recent seizure of Crimea and the crisis in Ukraine, declaring, "Putin is right." Putin did not preside over the march like Soviet leaders did, but he continued a different tradition, handing out "Hero of Labour" medals to five workers at the Kremlin, something he revived from the Soviet era last year. May Day, or International Workers' Day, and was always an important public demonstration in the former Soviet country.

Read it at Reuters
May 1, 2014 9:58 AM

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Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2014/05/01/first-russia-may-day-parade-since-ussr.html