Top Ten Congressman Kevin Yoder Skinny-Dipping
Excuses

post from Crooks and Liars on 22 August 2012 10:00:49 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Top Ten Congressman Kevin Yoder Skinny-Dipping Excuses

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From this Monday evening's Late Show with David Letterman, Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan) Top Ten excuses for his skinny-dipping in the Sea of Galilee last year during a "fact finding" mission to Israel.

Someone should tell the Congressman that if he doesn't want to draw attention to himself, maybe he should avoid taking trips with other Reps being investigated by the FBI already.

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http://crooksandliars.com/heather/top-ten-congressman-kevin-yoder-skinny-dip

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The Koch Brothers Must Have LOVED Monopoly as
Kids

post from Firedoglake on 22 August 2012 10:00:01 PM. © Firedoglake

The Koch brothers don't just have a gazillion luxury homes and boats. They've been using their wealth to shut out the voices of the 99% ? pledging to spend at least $100 million on the 2012 elections. The pro-corporate policies they favor are, of course,[...]

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The Koch Brothers Must Have LOVED Monopoly As
Kids

post from Firedoglake on 22 August 2012 10:00:01 PM. © Firedoglake

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GOP proposes to stiffen penalties for early
states in 2016

post from DemConWatch on 22 August 2012 09:40:00 PM. © DemConWatch

Trying to prevent Florida from again holding an early primary in 2016, the RNC Rules Committee voted Tuesday to dramatically stiffen penalties for any state that schedules its primary up before the last Tuesday in February.
The measure exempts the four sanctioned “early states” – Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada – who will not be penalized if they need to move up their contests to maintain their favored status.
Florida scheduled a January primary in 2012, even though they lost half of their 100 delegates for breaking a rule to do so.
Under the measure passed by a voice vote here, they would instead get only nine delegates next time. -Politico

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http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com/diary/5474/gop-proposes-to-stiffen-penal
ties-for-early-states-in-2016

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Could This Be True

post from Talking Points Memo on 22 August 2012 09:01:17 PM. © Talking Points Memo

The main exponent of Todd Akin's theory that rape victims don't get pregnant is a pro-life activist and doctor named Jack Willke. And he claims that he got a private meeting with Mitt Romney this year. The claim comes in an article just out from The[...]

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rue.php

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You know the old saying: Coffee mugs don't kill
people, PEOPLE kill people

post from DownWithTyranny! on 22 August 2012 09:00:32 PM. © DownWithTyranny!

File photo -- probably not the coffee mug alleged to have been
used by tennis official Lois Ann Goodman to brain her husband
by Ken

Since the high-priced mouthpieces of the National Coffee Mug Association (NCMA) are going to be out in force in the weeks to come, applying all their craft to spinning this latest incident of alleged coffee-mug violence, readers are advised to rely on their common sense, coupled with all available scientific literature on homicides and other serious spouse-to-spouse injuries inflicted by coffee mug, which shows that the overwhelming majority of these incidents would never have occurred if the perpetrator had instead had ready access to a weapon less likely to be deployed in the heat of marital strife, like a gun.

From DNAinfo.com:

U.S. Open Referee Arrested for Murdering Husband with Coffee Mug

August 21, 2012 4:30pm | By Mary Johnson, Irene Plagianos

MANHATTAN -- A 70-year-old referee for the U.S. Open tennis tournament was arrested in Midtown on Tuesday for allegedly beating her husband to death with a coffee mug.

Lois Ann Goodman, who is in town from Los Angeles to officiate at the U.S. Open, was apprehended at the Sheraton Hotel, NBC New York reported.

At a Tuesday evening arraignment Goodman was charged with murder and with being a fugitive from justice. Goodman waived her right to fight extradition to California.

She requested through her attorney that she be allowed to return to her home state as soon as possible -- even though California uses the death penalty.

"She wants to as quickly as possible go back to California and fight this case," Goodman's attorney Allen Farbman said. "She does not want to stay here and, probably, languish in jail."

Goodman uttered "yes" quietly when asked if she was waiving her right to an extradition hearing.

Goodman allegedly murdered her husband "with a coffee cup by striking him about the head and stabbing him in the head," according to the criminal complaint filed with the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Manhattan Criminal Court judge Erika Edwards set Sept. 4 for Goodman's next appearance, after which she'll be taken back to California. But Edwards said that date could be switched to an earlier date.

Goodman is being held without bail.

Police have been investigating the death of Goodman?s 80-year-old husband, Alan, since April 17.

Then last week, police in Los Angeles obtained a warrant for Goodman?s arrest, but Goodman was already in New York for the annual tennis tournament.

Prosecutors with the Los Angeles district attorney?s office reportedly plan to request $1 million in bail.

A spokesman for the NCMA, who requested anonymity on the ground that his mother would be deeply ashamed, commented in response to growing calls for tighter restrictions on the availability and deployment of coffee mugs:

While I can't of course comment on any specific case that may be involved in active legal proceedings, I can say in general that the use of coffee mugs in spouse-on-spouse violence is exceedingly rare. It strikes me as far more suggestive in this case that the alleged perpetrator is a tennis official, or that she's from Los Angeles.

#

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http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2012/08/you-know-old-saying-coffee-mugs-dont.
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GOP "We Built It" convention receiving tens of
millions in govt funds (socialists)

post from US Politics | AMERICAblog News on 22 August 2012 09:00:32 PM. © US Politics | AMERICAblog News

Not that the Republicans, and especially Mitt Romney, are beneath lying, but still - this ongoing "we built it" snafu is getting awfully embarrassing.Every time Romney tries to highlight something supposedly built without government assistance, we find out that it was built with a LOT of government assistance. There was Paul Ryan's family business. Then Romney held a series of "we...

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ion-receiving.html

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Mike Huckabee: Chief Enabler for the Religious
Kook Bloc

post from Crooks and Liars on 22 August 2012 09:00:15 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Huckabee: FRC Can't Be a Hate Group Because Security Guard Didn't Kill Shooter

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[H/t Heather]

What is it about Mike Huckabee that brings out the worst in his religious-right interview subjects? Mebbe it's the likelihood that Huckabee himself holds all these views while managing to project an image of avuncular amiability that belies his underlying nastiness.

After all, as Ellen at Newshounds observes, there was Huckabee last weekend, hosting Tony Perkins of the Family Research Center, invidiously trying to blame the Southern Poverty Law Center for the shooting at his offices, just as he had been doing all week:

Last Saturday, Huckabee began by citing the "huge pile of money" held by the SPLC. He didn't mention the FRC's assets which are listed as $12,516,000. He noted that the SPLC spends "a lot of time" accusing family values organizations of being hate groups and that Perkins was "bold" in speaking out about the "atmosphere" which contributed to the shooting. In response to Huckabee's question about the reason for the classification, Perkins insulted the SPLC's lack of "integrity" and accused them of "making money off of the spreading of hostility." (on Fox, oh, the irony!) The chyron stated, as Fox Fact, that the "FRC Promotes Faith, Freedom, and Family." Perkins claimed that they are being attacked for the policy on marriage and their "religious position on homosexuality." (Right, gays are going to hell, badda boom) He then made his patented claim that this is fostering a hostile environment. After citing the Chick-fil-A sandwich bags that the shooter possessed, he dismissed the connections between the food chain and the FRC. And while he didn't have the details, he accused the media of constantly mentioning the FRC, in their Chick fil-A coverage, as a hate group and that, according to Perkins, gave the shooter "a license to shoot."
Using data from the right wing shill, Brent Bozell, Huckabee then attacked the media for not sufficiently covering the shooting and not exposing the shooters "connections to a gay rights group" and if that happened at Planned Parenthood, the coverage would have been different. To Huck's question about media coverage, Perkins admitted that he hadn't tracked it, although he praised Fox for its coverage. He then proceeded to trash the SPLC for "creating this atmosphere of hostility." He asked gay groups, who expressed their condolences to the FRC, to urge the SPLC to "stop the labelling" (On Fox! Oh, the irony!) of groups that stand for "traditional moral values." He claimed (again, the irony) that "there's no place for this in a constitutional republic." He whined about freedom of speech. Huck said he brought "light to the story." (Oh, no he didn't!)

Then, Huckabee followed that up a couple of days later by letting Todd Akin feebly rationalize his bizarre abortion remarks by himself feebly rationalizing the underlying prohibition against victims of rape obtaining an abortion.

Akin Apologizes: 'I Was Talking About Forcible Rape'

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[H/t Dave]

As Patricia at Newshounds observes:

Akin apologized (?!) for his bizarre and offensive comment about "legitimate" rape with this statement, to Huckabee: "I was talking about forcible rape, and that was absolutely the wrong word." (So, uh "forcible rape" is different from "legitimate" rape, how?) Huckabee, BTW, endorsed and supported Akin's candidacy and for that Akin is grateful. During the warm Christian brotherizing that went on during the interview, Huckabee seemed to validate the Sharon Angle philosophy that being forced to give birth, after a rape, is making lemonade out of lemons (Be happy ladies, you're gonna be a mommy). Huckabee noted that horrible rapes have created "wonderful human beings." Words fail...

Huckabee hides his extremism well. But every now and then the mask slips.

Read The Full Article:
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/mike-huckabee-chief-enabler-religiou

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My Little Town 20120822: Dad and The Lawn

I took a week off from blogging last week for a number of reasons. One was that I was having trouble getting my mind around topics. Another was being in sort of a strange set of moods that have made concentration rather difficult. Yet[...]

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http://www.docudharma.com/diary/30670/my-little-town-20120822-dad-and-the-lawn

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Mitt Romney to Anti-Abortion Doctor Behind
Akin’s ‘Legitimate Rape’ Claim: ‘We Agree On Almost Everything’

Even as Republicans try to distance themselves from Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) and his explosive comments about “legitimate rape,” more evidence has emerged linking Mitt Romney himself to the controversial doctor and anti-abortion activist behind Akin’s discredited claim that rape does not often result in pregnancy. Dr. John Willke, one of the founders of the anti-abortion movement and Akin’s source, told the Daily Telegraph today that he had a private meeting with Romney at his Cincinnati home last October. Willke said that Romney thanked him for his support and told him, “we agree on almost everything.” It was revealed earlier this week that Romney had also touted Willke’s support during his 2008 presidential campaign, even referring to him as an “important surrogate.” The Romney campaign declined to comment to the Daily Telegraph about Dr. Willke’s comments.

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/08/22/732911/mitt-romney-to-anti-abortion-
doctor-behind-akins-legitimate-rape-claim-we-agree-on-almost-everything/

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