DOJ Approves Virginia Voter ID Law

post from ThinkProgress on 21 August 2012 06:00:03 PM. © ThinkProgress

The Department of Justice precleared Virginia’s new voter ID law under the Voting Rights Act, a decision that effectively states that the law will not disproportionately impact minority voters. Although Virginia’s voter ID law is as much a solution in search of a problem as any other such law — an individual is more likely to get struck by lightning than to commit voter fraud at the polls — Virginia’s law is significantly less offensive than many other state’s laws that require voters to present one of a very short list of forms of ID. Virginia voters can present a voter registration card, Social Security card, driver?s license, government-issued ID, photo ID from their job, utility bill, paycheck, bank statement, government check or a current Virginia college ID.

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http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/08/21/720551/doj-approves-virginia-voter-id
-law/

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Two Congressmen To Donate Akin Leadership PAC
Contributions To Charity, Others Silent

post from ThinkProgress on 21 August 2012 06:00:02 PM. © ThinkProgress

Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO)

Over the past 48 hours, a wide array of Republican politicians and activists have condemned Missouri Republican Senate nominee Rep. Todd Akin’s Sunday comments that ?legitimate rape? rarely produces pregnancy and/or suggested he withdraw from the race.

Two Congressmen who had received contributions from Akin’s Takin Back America leadership PAC — Reps. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) and Bobby Schilling (R-IL) — followed suit, promising to donate the Akin money to charities.

Since the start of the 2010 cycle, Takin Back America PAC gave $20,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) — the campaign arm of the House Republican Conference. The NRCC did not immediately respond to a ThinkProgress inquiry as to what it planned to do with the money.

Additionally, the PAC disbursed:

– $5,000 to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)
– $5,000 to Rep. John Carter (R-TX)
– $5,000 to Rep. Tom Price‘s (R-GA) leadership PAC
– $2,000 to Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI)
– $2,000 to Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
– $2,000 to Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA)

An examination of their websites and Twitter feeds did not reveal any statements from those six about their plans for the contributions. Nor did they appear to have made any statements to date even condemning Akin’s comments.

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n-leadership-pac-contributions-to-charity-others-silent/

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Todd Akin launches new website with fetuses,
grammar errors

post from Daily Kos on 21 August 2012 05:57:16 PM. © Daily Kos

The 'Still Standing The "Still Standing" page of Todd Akin's website. The first version, anyway.Just in case you were unclear on where Todd Akin is coming from, he wants you to know three things:

Like any good Republican, he and his staff do not concern themselves with grammar. The text probably should be "You're Standing With Todd," not "Your Standing With Todd," but such distinctions are for pundits and communists.
Todd Akin again wants you to know that he used the wrong words in the wrong way. That should be enough explanation for anyone, right?
Todd Akin wants you to look at this gigantic fetus. LOOK AT IT. LOOK AT THE GIANT SPACE FETUS.

Oh, wait. You can't look at the gigantic fetus anymore. They already pulled it from the site.

Oh, and Todd? Good work on the site edits, you're almost there now. So close!

And, scene.

3:05 PM PT: Kaili has been livetweeting Todd Akin's website abortion, which is nice because I don't have to.

Holy shit! Todd Akin aborted the fetus on his website?

? @KailiJoy via web

I'll bet Todd Akin didn't even get a transvaginal ultrasound before he murdered that poor, innocent website fetus.

? @KailiJoy via web

Todd, don't you know you have to wait 24 hours before you can abort your website fetus?

? @KailiJoy via web

Todd, aren't you afraid that aborting your website fetus wil give you breast cancer?

? @KailiJoy via web

Okay, Todd, but just so you know, you're probably going to regret your website fetus abortion for the rest of your life.

? @KailiJoy via webPoor Todd. Poor, poor Todd.

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/-6OjVMWcRnU/-Todd-Akin-launches-ne
w-website-with-fetuses-grammar-errors

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Today on The Stars Hollow Gazette

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 21 August 2012 05:57:07 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Our regular featured content-On This Day In History August 21 by TheMomCatPunting the Pundits by TheMomCatThese featured articles-More Democrats by ek hornbeckThe Tangled Web That Nations Weave: Part 2 by TheMomCat"Foaming the Runway for the Banks" by[...]

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http://www.docudharma.com/diary/30657/today-by-TheMomCat

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Mitt-paul!!

post from Daily Kos on 21 August 2012 05:50:05 PM. © Daily Kos

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/7OFx4alfZDg/-Mitt-paul

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David Brooks Doesnt Have Access to the Medicare
Trustees Report

post from Firedoglake on 21 August 2012 05:45:45 PM. © Firedoglake

David Brooks makes one of his usual balanced pitches for the Romney-Ryan ticket. As usual, just about everything of substance in the piece is wrong.He begins by bemoaning the fact that: "Entitlement spending is crowding out spending on investments in our[...]

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One Giant Step for Womankind! Woo Hoo!

post from Crooks and Liars on 21 August 2012 05:30:09 PM. © Crooks and Liars

I'm just so thrilled that women will get to play golf at Augusta, and all it took to become worthy was for one woman to become a billionaire through her private equity firm, and the other by putting a kinder, friendlier face on preemptive war, rendition and torture. Who wouldn't be proud of this feminist milestone?

Yes, I know all about the deals made out on the links. I know that keeping women out of the top country clubs effectively shuts down their chances to move up in business. I know all that. But golf? I'm with Mark Twain: "A good walk, spoiled." And getting into an exclusive club also falls under the heading of "First World problems."

The home of the Masters now has green jackets for women.
In a historic change at one of the world's most exclusive golf clubs, Augusta National invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first female members since the club was founded in 1932.
"This is a joyous occasion," chairman Billy Payne said Monday.
For some, it was a long time coming.
Martha Burk and her women's advocacy group first challenged the club 10 years ago over its all-male membership. The debate returned this year when IBM, one of the top corporate sponsors of the Masters, appointed Virginia Rometty as its chief executive. The previous four CEOs of Big Blue had all been Augusta National members.
The battle ended in typical style for Augusta National, with an understated announcement that left even Burk stunned.
"Oh my God. We won," she blurted out when contacted by The Associated Press.

I happen to hate golf. It's probably a class thing that has to do with the type of people who belong to these high-end golf clubs, because the members I've known were both racist and right-wing -- although very pleasant people and good at business! It also annoys me to see so many working class and middle class people take up golf, because to me, it's identifying with the oppressor. (Yeah, I really do think like that.)

But hey, women at Augusta! Woo hoo!

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http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/one-giant-step-womankind-woo-hoo

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Inventor of Todd Akin's fake science was strongly
praised by '07 Romney campaign

U.S. Republican presidential candidate and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney addresses supporters during his Wisconsin and Maryland primary night rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 3, 2012. REUTERS/Darren Hauck Once again: Todd Akin's position that there is no such thing as pregnancy from "legitimate" rape is not very far from the so-called "mainstream" Republican position on the matter. Here's one of the people Akin gets his garbage fake-science from, the radical anti-abortion activist Dr. John Willke, who asserts despite actual statistical evidence to the contrary that pregnancies from rape are "very rare." From HuffPo:

Willke, president of the Life Issues Institute, wrote a book with a chapter on rape from which Akin could have easily pulled his facts:
"Her body is upset," Willke writes, referring to the rape victim. "Every woman is aware that stress and emotional factors can alter her menstrual cycle ... Hormone production is controlled by a part of the brain which is easily influenced by emotions. There?s no greater emotional trauma that can be experienced by a woman than an assault rape. This can radically upset her possibility of ovulation, fertilization, implantation and even nurturing of a pregnancy."

Oh, and just in case an entire chapter dismissing the likelihood of rape-caused pregnancies isn't enough, he also reiterated the same thing in an interview yesterday. Note, in that link, that the responses by actual professionals include such choice words as "absurd," "nuts" and "nonsense."

All right, so there's the mindset that thinks women don't get pregnant from rape because of emotions and magical transforming womenparts and whatnot. Is he just some backwoods crackpot, or is he a member of good standing in modern Republicanism? RH Reality Check notes a 2007 press release from the Romney campaign happily accepting Willke's endorsement:

Today, Dr. John Willke, a founder of the Pro Life Movement, endorsed Governor Mitt Romney and his campaign for our nation's highest office. Dr. Willke is a leading voice within the pro-life community and will be an important surrogate for Governor Romney's pro-life and pro-family agenda. [...]
Welcoming Dr. Willke's announcement, Governor Romney said, "I am proud to have the support of a man who has meant so much to the pro-life movement in our country. He knows how important it is to have someone in Washington who will actively promote pro-life policies. Policies that include more than appointing judges who will follow the law but also opposing taxpayer funded abortion and partial birth abortion. I look forward to working with Dr. Willke and welcome him to Romney for President."

An important surrogate in deciding Romney policy? Well, perhaps Mitt Romney has already flip-flopped on that, since we're talking about way back in the before-times of 2007. Or, considering who he picked as his running mate, perhaps he hasn't. All we know is that Willke had the decency to sound authoritative when making up junk figures, while Todd Akin botched the whole thing by saying "legitimate" instead of the Ryan-endorsed phrase, "forcible."

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/1uKM7uYmDFo/-Inventor-of-Todd-Akin
-s-fake-science-was-strongly-praised-by-07-Romney-nbsp-campaign

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Memphis mom charged for beating alleged molester
coach with a baseball bat

Memphis mom charged for beating alleged molester coach with a baseball bat Lakeshia Richmond says that her son told her that his little league football coach had touched him inappropriately. So what does she do? She gets a baseball bat and goes to work on the alleged molesters ass. Watch video on this here: Mom [...]

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http://glciii.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/memphis-mom-charged-for-beating-alleged-mo
lester-coach-with-a-baseball-bat/

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Drought Impacting Shipping On the Mississippi
River

Marcy Wheeler alerts me to the huge economic consequences of the drought of 2012 as it relates to the Mississippi River. Since those canny Ron Paul supporters shut down the NAFTA Superhighway, the might Mississippi remains the key shipping highway[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/hTnu8il9HHs/

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