By: Dearie

post from Comments on: Late Late Night FDL: Let?s Get Stoned on 12 April 2012 02:41:31 AM. © Comments on: Late Late Night FDL: Let?s Get Stoned

Happy dreams to you, too!

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By: Suzanne

post from Comments on: Late Late Night FDL: Let?s Get Stoned on 12 April 2012 02:35:47 AM. © Comments on: Late Late Night FDL: Let?s Get Stoned

ok peeps, my pills are making me horizontal. thanks for letting me hang out with ya tonighthappy trailsg'nite all

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Some Truth From Vonnegut

post from jobsanger on 12 April 2012 01:07:00 AM. © jobsanger

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Teen Pregnancy Drops In U.S. (But Not Nearly
Enough)

post from jobsanger on 12 April 2012 01:06:00 AM. © jobsanger

CNN was trumpeting recently that the teen pregnancy rate in the United States has dropped again. It now rests at about 34.3 births for every 1,000 teenage girls. That is the lowest rate for the United States since 1946 (66 years ago). Great news. Right?

Well, it's great news if your standard for great news is pretty low. That 34.3 birth rate is still among the highest for all developed nations. Our neighbor to the north, Canada, has a rate of only 14 per 1,000. Many of the European countries, like France, the Netherlands, and all of the Nordic countries have a much smaller rate than even Canada. Japan was also down into single digits.

The truth is that even though the rate has fallen in this country, it is still far too high. And one reason for it is because far too many states still refuse to teach sex education -- relying on "abstinence-only" preaching instead. And those states naturally have the highest teen pregnancy rates.

There is no reason why the United States should have a higher rate than other developed nations. The only reason it's happening is because too many Americans believe that teaching real sex education in the schools will make teenagers want to have sex (and that offends their religious beliefs). It's a ridiculous belief. Too many teens are going to have sex whether sex education is taught or not. That's just a part of what happens in the teen years. But educated teens can at least avoid getting pregnant or catching an STD. All we have to do is look at the success of the other developed nations to see that.

I'm glad the rate has fallen. But it is time we really get serious about this problem. And it's not going to be solved by preaching and burying our heads in the sand.

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The Tax Swamp

post from jobsanger on 12 April 2012 01:05:00 AM. © jobsanger

Political Cartoon is by Pat Bagley in the Salt Lake Tribune.

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Planned Parenthood Fights Back In Texas

post from jobsanger on 12 April 2012 01:04:00 AM. © jobsanger

The Medicaid Women's Health Program of Texas provided medical care for about 130,000 low-income women in Texas each year. That program was funded by a mix of federal and state funds. About 50,000 of those women were served by Planned Parenthood. But that was before the Republican-dominated state legislature decided to play politics with women's health.

In the last session of the legislature, the Republicans rammed through a ban on providing any money to Planned Parenthood, even though none of the Planned Parenthood locations receiving the state money provided any abortions. The legislature didn't care that the state (and federal) money wasn't being used for abortions, but only for other women's health care issues. They knew it would look good to their teabagger base to cut the funds just because of the Planned Parenthood name.

Now over 50,000 women have been cut off from health care. The federal government cut off all funds going to Texas for the program because they said Texas had singled out Planned Parenthood to discriminate against, and that was against federal rules. The governor has said the state will find the money to fund the program, but so far they have done nothing -- and it is unlikely they will do so, since they have a $15 billion hole in the next biennium's budget already.

This is just another step in the Republican's war on women. That war on women is being waged nationally, but since Texas government is controlled almost exclusively by Republicans, they are waging a more effective battle against women in this state (note that Texas is also a state that requires women to be raped with a sonogram wand before being given an abortion).

Fortunately, Planned Parenthood has decided to fight back again the Republican misogynists. Yesterday they filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Texas. They are arguing that the state ban imposed against their health care program is unconstitutional. I don't know how much chance they have of winning that lawsuit, but I am glad they are fighting back.

Decent people must take a stand against the GOP's war on women -- and this action by Planned Parenthood is a good place to start. It is time to show the Republicans that women's health care is far more important than their misogynistic ideology.

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Florida

post from jobsanger on 12 April 2012 01:03:00 AM. © jobsanger

Political Cartoon is by Jim Morin in The Miami Herald.

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God's Candidates

post from jobsanger on 12 April 2012 01:02:00 AM. © jobsanger

Four candidates claimed to have entered the Republican presidential nomination race because god told them to do it. If there is a god, he/she must have a wicked sense of humor because all four candidates failed miserably and have dropped out.

The truth is that these four candidates thought they could get votes by cloaking their grab for power in the christian religion. They have now found out that is not something most Americans like. While it may appeal to some evangelicals (who want to mix religion and politics), most Americans think it is either blasphemy or an outrageous lie when a candidate says god told him/her to run for office.

These candidates (Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum) should probably read the Constitution. In the United States, leaders (including presidents) are chosen by the voters -- not any god (or goddess). And those voters jealously guard that right to choose. They may not always choose wisely, but they do make the choice (unless they are overruled by the Supreme Court).

(NOTE -- The caricatures above are all done by DonkeyHotey.)

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Justice Department To Sue Arizona Sheriff Joe
Arpaio Over Civil Rights Abuses

The Justice Department has given up on settling with Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and is planning to sue the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office for systematic civil rights abuses of Hispanic residents, a DOJ official indicated in a terse letter to Arpaio's lawyer on Wednesday.

"It is clear that DOJ's concerted effort to attain voluntary compliance by your client has failed," Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roy Austin of DOJ's Civil Rights Division wrote in a letter to Arpaio lawyer Joseph Popolizio obtained by TPM.

"It is also clear that we should not discuss anything else by telephone because you will not accurately portray those conversations," Austin wrote. "At this point, it is best to let a court determine the appropriateness of appointing an independent monitor as well as imposing other relief in order to address MCSO's constitutional and federal statutory violations."

Arpaio's office first came under federal scrutiny back in 2008, and DOJ announced in December that its probe found that Arpaio had "promoted a culture of bias" and that his officers had discriminated against Latinos. DOJ and Arpaio have been in contentious negotiations over the findings for months, but prospects now appear dim for a negotiated settlement.

Austin was writing Wednesday in response to a letter that Popolizio sent to DOJ earlier in the day. Popolizio's missive "so obviously misstates the course of dealings between the parties that it is not worthy of a point by point refutation," Austin wrote back. Popolizio's letter has not been released publicly.

In opposing a federal monitor, Arpaio's office has said that a monitor "essentially usurps the powers and duties of an elected Sheriff and transfers them to a person or group of persons selected by the federal government."

DOJ has said that a federal monitor was a non-negotiable part of any agreement. Austin's letter said the monitor was the first item that came up when the government summarized a proposed agreement to Arpaio's team on Feb. 6.

"The Proposed Settlement Agreement that we presented to you is entirely consistent with the summary provided to you on February 6 and what you agreed to on February 6," Austin wrote.

"The Agreement explicitly limits the power of the monitor to the terms of the Agreement; establishes that the monitor shall operate under the supervision and orders of a federal court; and includes specific language ensuring that the monitor will not replace the role and duties of the Sheriff," he continued.

"Your characterization of the terms of our Agreement is inaccurate and clearly designed to mislead," Austin wrote. "Considering that the word 'monitor' appears throughout the Agreement and you never gave us an opportunity to negotiate the exact language of the Agreement, it is silly for you to pretend that I or any other DOJ employee defined exactly what the duties of the monitor would have at the end of negotiations. Nothing of the kind was ever said and you know it."

The full letter is embedded below.

Response to 04112012 JSH