Bloodlust, in Jesus’ Name

Because cruelty and stupidity are American virtues:

It doesn’t matter that a California lawyer’s outrageous Sodomite Suppression Act ballot initiative proposes executing gays with “bullets to the head,” or that it’s unconstitutional and could never become law. California Attorney General Kamala Harris is forced to allow the measure to circulate for signatures, legal experts said.

The initiative, which mandates 10 years in prison and permanent expulsion from California for anyone who advocates gay rights to minors, stands no chance of collecting 365,000 valid signatures it needs to appear on next year’s ballot. But because its backer, Matt McLaughlin, paid the $200 filing fee by the February deadline, Harris is bound by law to prepare a title and summary of the initiative by May so that its sponsor can begin collecting signatures, legal experts told the San Francisco Chronicle.

(O’Connor)

And remember, this is all in Jesus’ name

Okay, I suppose that part isn’t surprising.

But if you want to know why so many of our neighbors are ending in self-destruction, well, I guess we can call it God’s love.

The only real question, I suppose, is what sort of person would be willing to stand with such a brutal, vicious farce.

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O’Connor, Lydia. “California Forced To Allow Signatures For Appalling ‘Shoot The Gays’ Ballot Initiative”. The Huffington Post. 23 March 2015.

Another Reason to Fight; Every Reason to Win

“Swaying hills of green, rolling sea of blue; if you say life is beautiful I guess it must be true. In a grave beneath the grass, remember how I used to be―made peace with all the things I used to hate, except for me. And so my kingdom comes, my will is done; this thing I know.”

―Floater

Blake Brockington is dead. Reports from North Carolina tell us the transgender pioneer, who last year won the title of Homecoming King at East Meck High School, took his own life.

“I honestly feel like this is something I have to do,” Brockington said last year, noting few other transgender male students have had the opportunity.

Brockington said at the time that winning will mean the most for several younger transgender students he had mentored, including a nine-year-old boy.

“He really looks up to me. That’s my heart,” Brockington said of his mentee. “He has support now and he will be able to avoid just about everything I’m going through and I don’t want him to ever have to be scared. I feel like if I do this, that’s one red flag for everybody to say, ‘Nobody should be scared to be themselves and everybody should have an equal opportunity to have an enjoyable high school experience.'”

But the homecoming win came with a price, Brockington told The Charlotte Observer earlier this year.

“That was single-handedly the hardest part of my trans journey,” Brockington told the daily newspaper. “Really hateful things were said on the Internet. It was hard. I saw how narrow-minded the world really is.”

He had a strong message for the public — “we are still human.”

“I’m still a person,” Brockington said. “And trans people are still people. Our bodies just don’t match what’s up (in our heads). We need support, not people looking down at us or degrading us or overlooking us. We are still human.”

(Comer)

Good night, Brock. And thank you. I’m so sorry we couldn’t do better.

And for the living, the question looms: How is this worth it? How is the hatred and cruelty worth it, in Jesus’ name, amen? How can you do this to your neighbors? To you children?

Because there are those of us who know why it’s worth it; our job is to fight the hatred, stop the madness, and keep each other standing, day by day, step by step, because damn it, we’re almost there.

Stand. Speak. Love. Live. Fight. Win.

There is so much more at stake than just our own selves.

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Comer, Matt. “Young transgender activist Blake Brockington mourned”. qNotes. 24 March 2015.

What Republicans Call Personal Accountability

Why is it that in the Party of Personal Accountability, it’s always someone else’s fault? Or, in this case, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is exploring a potential presidential bid, trying to explain his take on the politics of climate change:

You know, when it comes to climate change being real, people of my party are all over the board. There was several resolutions ....

.... I did the trifecta. I said that it’s real, that man has contributed to it in a substantial way. But the problem is Al Gore’s turned this thing into religion. You know, climate change is not a religious problem for me, it’s an economic, it is an environmental problem.

So I think the Republican Party has to do some soul-searching. Before we can be bipartisan, we’ve got to figure out where we are as a party. What is the environmental platform of the Republican Party? I don’t know, either.

So I’d like to come up with one. I’d like to have a debate within the party. Can you say that climate change is a scientifically sound phenomenon? But can you reject the idea you have to destroy the economy to solve the problem, is sort of where I’ll be taking this debate.

You know how it goes. Sure, Republicans threw in with the wrong people, and determinedly promoted false assertions of fact, engaged in character assassination, and generally threw a temper tantrum. But, you know, it’s all Al Gore’s fault.

Because, you know, no Republican is ever responsible for his or her own actions; suggesting that members of the Party of Personal Accountability should, in fact, be held accountable for their words and actions is unfair and prejudiced and why do you hate America so much?

No, really, just blame Al Gore. Had he said nothing, Republicans would not have been tempted to disagree, and thus never would have made such fools of themselves. Indeed, this is the heart of Republican “personal accountability”, to blame everyone else.

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Davidson, Amy. “A Conversation with Lindsey Graham”. Council on Foreign Relations. 23 March 2015.

The Ted Cruz Show (Twitmix)

Cruelty is an American virtue, and nowhere is it more exhaustively celebrated than in our political discourse; which, in turn, kind of makes sense and explains why we not only tolerate such vice but encourage and even demand it. Oh, hell, let’s just run with the explanation from DeadState:

Just before Ted Cruz’s announcement today that he’s running for president, he sent out a cryptic message on Twitter that seemed to forebode the event.

Almost immediately, the folks on Twitter cobbled together the hashtag #TedCruzCampaignSlogans, and it was all downhill from there. Mocking Cruz with everything from suggested campaign slogans to referencing his birthplace in Canada, the onslaught was relentless.

And, of course, the thrashing ranged from policy to stupidity and even on to aesthetics:

• “The wisdom of Bush, the fearmongering of Cheney, the ideology of Rand Paul, and the face of the drama mask.”

• “Like Sarah Palin’s annoying younger brother.”

• “An ocean in every house and a probe in every woman.”

• “Just in case Rand Paul wasn’t crazy enough for you.”

• “Because Joseph McCarthy deserves a second chance.”

Right. Pick your favorites. Grimace at the tasteless ones. Let it be.

That is to say, yeah, sure, it’s kind of fun to make these jokes, but there is no alternate campaign slogan we might invent that will surpass the sublimely vicious humor inherent in the idea that Ted Cruz thinks he can be president.

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(h/t to D.P.)

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, speaks at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013. Cruz was scheduled to speak on the scope of treaty power in the U.S. Constitution. Photographer: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Palma, Sky. “Ted Cruz jumps in for 2016, Twitter destroys him accordingly with #TedCruzCampaignSlogans”. DeadState.org. 23 March 2015.

The Ted Cruz Show (Pilot―The Flaming Flag)

The Ted Cruz Show is just getting underway, but we’ve had a few years to preview what comes next. Nonetheless, the Texas junior does provide some new material; it’s not all a rehash. To wit, BoingBoing brings the first logo controversy of the 2016 cycle for the flaming American flag that resembles the Al Jazeera marque.

And if that isn’t enough of an omen, how about the ringing non-endorsement from the Sen. John Cornyn, the Texas senior: “You know, we’ve got a lot of Texans who are running for president, so I’m going to watch from the sidelines.” Manu Raju of Politico tries to explain:

Cornyn denied his position was retribution for Cruz’s refusal to back him during his Senate primary last year.

Cornyn’s position does not come as much of a surprise. The tea party freshman refused to back Cornyn during the senator’s crowded primary race last year, unlike in Kentucky where Paul aggressively campaigned for McConnell last year and backed him during his primary bid. But Cruz insisted he would stay neutral in Cornyn’s primary race, which he easily won.

While Cornyn and Cruz are on friendly personal terms, they have been on the opposite sides on a number of tactical disagreements, including over the 2013 government shutdown fight. And the young Texan consistently bashes the Senate leadership team where Cornyn serves in the second-ranking spot.

While such public endorsements may not move voters in early states like Iowa or New Hampshire, the backing of powerful members of Congress can help upstart candidates tap vast donor networks. Cornyn has built a deep campaign war chest after running three times in an expensive state like Texas as well as chairing the National Republican Senatorial Committee in two straight cycles.

“Nope,” Cornyn said when asked if he would lend his financial support to Cruz. “You got a lot of people involved, and I don’t see any benefit to them or to me.”

A Presidential Retort

Last week, President Obama addressed the City Club of Cleveland; he also spoke his mind about a few things having to do with the way of things in Washington:

It’s important to note that at every step that we’ve taken over the past six years we were told our goals were misguided; they were too ambitious; that my administration’s policies would crush jobs and explode deficits, and destroy the economy forever. Remember that? Because sometimes we don’t do the instant replay, we don’t run the tape back, and then we end up having the same argument going forward.

One Republican in Congress warned our policies would diminish employment and diminish stock prices. Diminish stock prices. (Laughter.) The stock market has doubled since I came into office. Corporate profits are―corporate balance sheets are stronger than they have ever been―because of my terrible business policies. (Laughter.)

One Republican senator claimed we faced trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see. Another predicted my reelection would spike gas prices to $6.60 a gallon. (Laughter.) I don’t know how he came up with that figure―$6.60. (Laughter.) My opponent in that last election pledged that he could bring down the unemployment rate to 6 percent by 2016―next year―at the end of next year. It’s 5.5 now. (Applause.)

And right here in Cleveland, the leader of the House Republicans―a good friend of mine―(laughter)―he captured his party’s economic theories by critiquing mine with a very simple question: Where are the jobs, he said. Where are the jobs? I’m sure there was a headline in The Plain Dealer or one of the papers―Where Are the Jobs?

Well, after 12 million new jobs, a stock market that has more than doubled, deficits that have been cut by two-thirds, health care inflation at the lowest rate in nearly 50 years, manufacturing coming back, auto industry coming back, clean energy doubled―I’ve come not only to answer that question, but I want to return to the debate that is central to this country, and the alternative economic theory that’s presented by the other side.

Because their theory does not change. It really doesn’t. It’s a theory that says, if we do little more than just cut taxes for those at the very top, if we strip out regulations and let special interests write their own rules, prosperity trickles down to the rest of us. And I take the opposite view. And I take it not for ideological reasons, but for historic reasons, because of the evidence.

Imagine that. Evidence.

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Obama, Barack. “Remarks by the President to the City Club of Cleveland”. The White House. 18 March 2015.

Not Surprising (Lazy Days Delays Mix)

The news shouldn’t be surprising; Senate leadership has once again pushed back any prospect of a confirmation vote for Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch. The situation as it stands in the wake of reports that mid-April will be the earliest possibility for a vote:

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters yesterday, “The continued delay is unconscionable.”

Note, the problem is not that Republicans have imposed a blanket blockade on all confirmation votes. On the contrary, since Lynch was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support on Feb. 26, the GOP majority has confirmed four Obama administration nominees, including one yesterday. Republicans have also allowed Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s nomination to reach the floor, despite the fact that Carter was nominated after Lynch.

But the A.G. nominee, for reasons Republicans have struggled to explain, is being denied an up-or-down vote, even though Lynch appears to have the votes necessary for confirmation.

All of this has unfolded despite Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) public vow that he would allow a vote on Lynch last week – a commitment he has since broken.

As of this morning, Lynch was nominated 136 days ago. As we discussed last week, the first African-American woman ever considered for this post has waited longer for a vote than any A.G. nominee in history, and longer than the last five A.G. nominees combined. Even her fiercest critics have failed to raise substantive objections to her qualifications, background, temperament, or judgment.

(Benen)

What we have here is another example of the Republican thesis that government does not and cannot work. And what we have here is also another example of Republicans trying to prove the thesis by deliberately botching up basic governance.

No, really, how is any of that actually surprising?

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Image note: Loretta Lynch, President Obama’s nominee to be the next attorney general, meets with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-VT, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Benen, Steve. “Senate GOP delaying Lynch nomination (again)”. msnbc. 24 March 2015.

The Time to Show Your Unequivocal Support for Law Enforcement

“Sadly, the bloodshed will most likely continue until those in positions of power realize that the unequivocal support of law enforcement is required to preserve our nation.”

―Fraternal Order of Police in Baltimore

Meanwhile, in Arizona, Debra Milke has been exonerated after spending twenty-two years on death row for apparent police and prosecutorial corruption:

Key to the case’s dismissal was prosecutorial misconduct, mainly that of a detective, Armando Saldate, who said Milke confessed to the crime to him — even though there was no witness or recording.

Prosecutors withheld from the jury Saldate’s personnel record which showed instances of misconduct in other cases, including lying under oath.

The two men with whom Milke was accused of conspiring were tried separately and are still on death row.

(Ahmed and Botelho)

What we have here is an accusation and conviction of murder and conspiracy, based on an apparent lie told by a detective, and prosecutors deliberately working to cover for that lie.

Twenty-two years.

Remember, we owe these law enforcement officials unequivocal support; if we don’t praise their corruption, America will not survive.

At least, that’s what a cop said.

You know, for whatever that is worth.

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WBAL. “Baltimore police union releases statement on NYPD shootings”. WBALTV.com. 21 December 2015.

Ahmed, Saeed and Greg Botelho. “Debra Milke, who spent 22 years on Arizona death row, has murder case tossed”. CNN. 24 March 2015.