All those rights Americans cherish, those fundamental human and
political freedoms protected by the U.S. Constitution, Republicans
contend those aren’t really inalienable rights or anything solid or
permanent like that.
See, according to the GOP, some Americans are sub-citizens who don’t
deserve rights equal to those enjoyed by, well, the right-wing.
Republicans think they’re right, and anyone who disagrees doesn’t
deserve rights.
Republicans managed to highlight that perverse plank in their political
platform over the past several weeks as they proposed—and sometimes
actually passed—legislation limiting the fundamental rights of specific
groups of American citizens. That includes gay Americans,
African-Americans, and Americans who are members of labor unions.
Right-wingers sought to seize from these Americans their rights to vote,
protest and live free from discrimination.
Read on....
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Showing posts with label GOP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GOP. Show all posts
GOP Caves, Stops Blocking Violence Against Women Act
On Thursday, following a heated debate on the House floor,
lawmakers passed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.
Republicans had held up the law for more than a year over provisions
designed to protect undocumented immigrants, Native Americans, and members of the LGBT community. In a separate, earlier vote, the House rejected an alternative, stripped-down VAWA pushed by House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor, instead embracing the bipartisan version of the bill the Senate passed last week.
The Senate version of the bill, however, was itself a modified version of Democrats' original bill, passed after Democrats acquiesced to Republican objections and removed a section that would have made more visas available to undocumented victims of domestic violence who help law enforcement prosecute their abusers. But the Senate's compromise bill wasn't good enough for the House Republican leadership, who introduced an alternate version that removed protections for members of the LGBT community and made it harder for tribal courts to prosecute non-Indian abusers.
Read on...
The Senate version of the bill, however, was itself a modified version of Democrats' original bill, passed after Democrats acquiesced to Republican objections and removed a section that would have made more visas available to undocumented victims of domestic violence who help law enforcement prosecute their abusers. But the Senate's compromise bill wasn't good enough for the House Republican leadership, who introduced an alternate version that removed protections for members of the LGBT community and made it harder for tribal courts to prosecute non-Indian abusers.
Read on...
Mich GOP introduces bill mandating invasive transvaginal ultrasound probe for women seeking abortion
Yesterday, Republicans in Michigan went "there", introducing legislation
that essentially requires a woman to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound
probe just prior to having an abortion. Their justification? It
"protects" women.
Read on...THE PERFORMANCE OF A DIAGNOSTIC ULTRASOUND EXAMINATION OF THE FETUS AT LEAST 2 HOURS BEFORE AN ABORTION IS PERFORMED WITH THE WOMAN GIVEN THE OPTION TO VIEW THE ACTIVE ULTRASOUND IMAGE OF THE FETUS, HEAR THE FETAL HEARTBEAT, RECEIVE A PHYSICAL PICTURE OF THE ULTRASOUND IMAGE OF THE FETUS, AND HEAR AN EXPLANATION OF THE ULTRASOUND IMAGE OF THE FETUS. THE PERFORMANCE OF A DIAGNOSTIC ULTRASOUND EXAMINATION OF THE FETUS, NOW A STANDARD PRACTICE AT ABORTION FACILITIES, PROTECTS THE HEALTH OF THE WOMAN SEEKING AN ABORTION BY VERIFYING AN INTRAUTERINE PREGNANCY, AS UNDIAGNOSED ECTOPIC PREGNANCIES CAN RESULT IN POTENTIALLY FATAL COMPLICATIONS AND INFERTILITY. THE PERFORMANCE OF A DIAGNOSTIC ULTRASOUND EXAMINATION OF THE FETUS FURTHER PROTECTS THE INTERESTS OF THE WOMAN SEEKING AN ABORTION BY ASSESSING THE VIABILITY OF THE FETUS AND CONFIRMING THE APPROXIMATE GESTATIONAL AGE OF THE FETUS, AS THIS INFORMATION IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO DETERMINE APPROPRIATE MEDICAL CARE FOR THE WOMAN SEEKING AN ABORTION. {...} [T]he the physician or qualified person assisting the physician shall: PERFORM A DIAGNOSTIC ULTRASOUND EXAMINATION IN ORDER TO VERIFY AN INTRAUTERINE PREGNANCY, ASSESS VIABILITY OF THE FETUS, CONFIRM GESTATIONAL AGE OF THE FETUS, AND ENSURE FULLY INFORMED CONSENT TO THE ABORTION. THE PHYSICIAN OR QUALIFIED PERSON ASSISTING THE PHYSICIAN SHALL ENSURE THAT THE ULTRASOUND SCREEN IS TURNED TOWARD THE PATIENT TO ENABLE HER TO EASILY VIEW THE ACTIVE ULTRASOUND IMAGE OF THE FETUS; SHALL INFORM THE PATIENT THAT THE ACTIVE ULTRASOUND IMAGE OF THE FETUS IS VISIBLE AND SHE MAY VIEW THE IMAGE ON THE ULTRASOUND SCREEN IF SHE DESIRES; SHALL PROVIDE THE PATIENT WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR OR DECLINE TO HEAR THE FETAL HEARTBEAT AS CONFIRMATION OF A VIABLE PREGNANCY...
Bill Seeks to Criminalize Abortion After Rape
Here’s some more backward thinking from the political party that introduced terms
such as “legitimate rape,” “forcible rape,” “easy rape” and “enjoyable
rape” into the national lexicon. Legislation introduced in New Mexico
recently by a Republican lawmaker would make it a crime for a woman who
gets pregnant as a result of being raped to get an abortion because it
would be considered “tampering with evidence.”
The result: Victims of rape would be forced to carry their pregnancies to term or be charged with a felony that could land them in prison for up to three years. That’s quite a burden for sexual-assault survivors—who, let’s remember, have already been heinously violated and victimized—to bear.
Read on...
The result: Victims of rape would be forced to carry their pregnancies to term or be charged with a felony that could land them in prison for up to three years. That’s quite a burden for sexual-assault survivors—who, let’s remember, have already been heinously violated and victimized—to bear.
Read on...
Beyond Fox News: The GOP is realizing it needs to talk to the rest of the media too
Interesting piece in Buzzfeed
about the Republicans starting to wake up to the fact that they need to
start appearing on other news outlets – real news outlets – than just
Fox News.
The thing is, going before real journalists can be hazardous to your health. Not often. But it’s certainly more risky than having Hannity brown-nose you for ten minutes.
The argument some conservatives are giving is that they’re only preaching to the choir when they go on Fox. Yes, but.
It’s a complicated question as to when its useful to go on a show that might as you tough questions. For the left, there really isn’t an alternative kind of show. Only lately MSNBC has been trying to fill Fox’s shoes – and MSNBC does it with fewer lies and less party loyalty. But before then it was either go on CNN and the other networks, and face tough questions, or go on Fox and be treated like a subhuman.
Read on....
The thing is, going before real journalists can be hazardous to your health. Not often. But it’s certainly more risky than having Hannity brown-nose you for ten minutes.
The argument some conservatives are giving is that they’re only preaching to the choir when they go on Fox. Yes, but.
It’s a complicated question as to when its useful to go on a show that might as you tough questions. For the left, there really isn’t an alternative kind of show. Only lately MSNBC has been trying to fill Fox’s shoes – and MSNBC does it with fewer lies and less party loyalty. But before then it was either go on CNN and the other networks, and face tough questions, or go on Fox and be treated like a subhuman.
Read on....
10 Million Hispanic Citizens May be Disenfranchised Thanks to GOP Voting Suppression
Voter purges and ID requirements being enacted in over 20 states could disenfranchise at least 10 million Hispanic citizens.
A new study by the Advancement Project estimatesthat voter purges and ID requirements being enacted in over 20 states could disenfranchise at least 10 million Hispanic citizens. The analysis found about 6.3 million Hispanic citizens were not registered to vote in 2010, while 10.8 million, about half the voting bloc, said they did not vote. The number is bound to swell as new efforts to limit the vote in states with large Latino communities use outdated information to remove suspected noncitizens:
A new study by the Advancement Project estimatesthat voter purges and ID requirements being enacted in over 20 states could disenfranchise at least 10 million Hispanic citizens. The analysis found about 6.3 million Hispanic citizens were not registered to vote in 2010, while 10.8 million, about half the voting bloc, said they did not vote. The number is bound to swell as new efforts to limit the vote in states with large Latino communities use outdated information to remove suspected noncitizens:
Those states are home to nearly 5.5 million registered Latino voters, and 1.1 million naturalized citizens from Latin America. Colorado and Florida identified voters for possible purging by comparing their voter registrations with driver’s license databases that show which voters indicated they were immigrants – thereby creating a problem, the report said.
“Naturalized citizens typically received their driver’s licenses when they were legal immigrants but before becoming naturalized citizens (and before registering to vote); therefore, this method generates lists of voters to be checked that targets naturalized citizens,” the report said.Read on...
GOP Approves ‘Most Conservative Platform In Modern History’
A week from the 2012 Republican National Convention, Republican
committee members spent Tuesday articulating and affirming the
principles they stand for in a draft of the official party platform. Led
by Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) and featuring other Tea Party stars like
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN),
the committee approved a draft of the platform McDonnell said “will
reflect the heart and soul of the Republican Party” and one committee
member called “the most conservative platform in modern history.”
Here are some highlights:
Here are some highlights:
- NO ABORTION IN CASES OF RAPE OR INCEST. The proposal for a “human life amendment” passed without a hitch — and without any exceptions for rape or incest. The committee didn’t stop there; they also adopted language that would ban drugs that end pregnancy after conception, which could potentially include Plan B, the “morning after pill.”
The GOP's Shady Plan to Privatize Prisons
Last August, two prisoners escaped from an Arizona penitentiary and fled to New Mexico, where they ambushed a couple, shot them to death, and lit their bodies on fire inside a trailer.
These fugitives didn't escape from just any facility: They were housed in a privately run prison managed by the Utah-based Management Training Corporation. After the incident, a review by the Arizona Department of Corrections concluded that the prison had poorly trained staff and deficient equipment—including a faulty security system that emitted so many false alarms, the prison staff simply ignored it.
Episodes like this have raised concerns about the privatization of prisons, with critics long arguing that such facilities pose a threat to public safety and don't save states much—if any—money in the long run. They also argue that such facilities pose a perverse incentive to keep people locked up. Still, the nation could soon see a major private-prison boom, as Republican governors and legislators across the country push privatization proposals to address budget shortfalls.
Read on...
These fugitives didn't escape from just any facility: They were housed in a privately run prison managed by the Utah-based Management Training Corporation. After the incident, a review by the Arizona Department of Corrections concluded that the prison had poorly trained staff and deficient equipment—including a faulty security system that emitted so many false alarms, the prison staff simply ignored it.
Episodes like this have raised concerns about the privatization of prisons, with critics long arguing that such facilities pose a threat to public safety and don't save states much—if any—money in the long run. They also argue that such facilities pose a perverse incentive to keep people locked up. Still, the nation could soon see a major private-prison boom, as Republican governors and legislators across the country push privatization proposals to address budget shortfalls.
Read on...
The Abortion Tax
The Republican plan to prevent your abortion by holding your tax money hostage.
By William SaletanThe Republican platform ridicules Democrats for failing to recognize the difference between public and private money. It complains that Congress "treats well-deserved tax cuts as a kind of spending, so that letting Americans keep more of their earnings is considered the same as more spending on pork projects." Democrats forget that "eliminating … tax reductions" is just another way "to raise taxes," says the GOP:
Today's Democratic Party views the tax code as a tool for social engineering. They use it to control our behavior, steer our choices, and change the way we live our lives. The Republican Party will put a stop to both social engineering and corporate handouts by simplifying tax policy, eliminating special deals, and putting those saved dollars back into the taxpayers' pockets.
Two years after writing that platform, Republicans have captured the House of Representatives. And what's their first item of business? Using the tax code as a tool for social engineering. This week, the House began hearings on two abortion bills: the Protect Life Act and the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. Both bills would outlaw the use of federal money for abortions. And to give the government more leverage, they would redefine tax credits as federal money.
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