Fuck the Republican Party.

[PotVsKtl]

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has signed an executive order directing state agencies to deny driver's licenses and other public benefits to young illegal immigrants who obtain work authorizations under a new Obama administration program.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/state/...gal-immigrants

[TomAz]

That's not a big deal, you know, because our thoughtful civic planners have built a state-of-the-art public transportation system. You really don't need a car to get around in Phoenix.

[obzen]

Tom: let the chuntis ride the bus.

[gaypalmsprings]

Tom Morello: 'Paul Ryan Is the Embodiment of the Machine Our Music Rages Against'

Rage Against the Machine's guitarist blasts Romney's VP pick and unlikely Rage fan

By Tom Morello

August 16, 2012 6:44 PM ET

Last week, Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan, the Republican architect of Congress's radical right-wing budget plan, as his running mate. Ryan has previously cited Rage Against the Machine as one of his favorite bands. Rage guitarist Tom Morello responds in this exclusive op-ed.

Paul Ryan's love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades. Charles Manson loved the Beatles but didn't understand them. Governor Chris Christie loves Bruce Springsteen but doesn't understand him. And Paul Ryan is clueless about his favorite band, Rage Against the Machine.

Ryan claims that he likes Rage's sound, but not the lyrics. Well, I don't care for Paul Ryan's sound or his lyrics. He can like whatever bands he wants, but his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one percent is antithetical to the message of Rage.

I wonder what Ryan's favorite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of "Fuck the Police"? Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings!

Don't mistake me, I clearly see that Ryan has a whole lotta "rage" in him: A rage against women, a rage against immigrants, a rage against workers, a rage against gays, a rage against the poor, a rage against the environment. Basically the only thing he's not raging against is the privileged elite he's groveling in front of for campaign contributions.

You see, the super rich must rationalize having more than they could ever spend while millions of children in the U.S. go to bed hungry every night. So, when they look themselves in the mirror, they convince themselves that "Those people are undeserving. They're . . . lesser." Some of these guys on the extreme right are more cynical than Paul Ryan, but he seems to really believe in this stuff. This unbridled rage against those who have the least is a cornerstone of the Romney-Ryan ticket.

But Rage's music affects people in different ways. Some tune out what the band stands for and concentrate on the moshing and throwing elbows in the pit. For others, Rage has changed their minds and their lives. Many activists around the world, including organizers of the global occupy movement, were radicalized by Rage Against the Machine and work tirelessly for a more humane and just planet. Perhaps Paul Ryan was moshing when he should have been listening.

My hope is that maybe Paul Ryan is a mole. Maybe Rage did plant some sensible ideas in this extreme fringe right wing nut job. Maybe if elected, he'll pardon Leonard Peltier. Maybe he'll throw U.S. military support behind the Zapatistas. Maybe he'll fill Guantanamo Bay with the corporate criminals that are funding his campaign – and then torture them with Rage music 24/7. That's one possibility. But I'm not betting on it.


Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...#ixzz23qcH2XCR

[VigoTheCarpathian]

Tom Morello is a multimillionaire and extravagant pussy.

[obzen]

lul, Romney standin' around with a white board like he's running shit -- he ain't the fuckin' president.

[java-do]

Can you blame him?
you get a really good view from that ivory tower.

[MissingPerson]

So how 'bout them legitimate rapes.

[Hannahrain]

Look, the body has ways of dealing with it. Just like it has ways of dealing with being exsanguinated. You die and the problem has then been dealt with. God gave us biological coping mechanisms so we wouldn't have to interfere with His plan.

[MissingPerson]

All joking aside, that's a genuinely terrifying thing to hear from any adult human being, nevermind one in a position of responsibility.

I've been kinda ambivalent about the idea of summing the GOP's ideology up as a "war on women" because that phrase is so melodramatic, but at this point, it's difficult to consider their attitude to women as anything less. That guy doesn't even have the most basic understanding of reproductive biology, and still feels qualified to make pronouncements about it that will have real implications for real people. It absolutely blows my mind. And this isn't some yahoo in a pub, he's a senate candidate. A senate candidate thinks that -

"If abortion could be considered in case of, say, a tubal pregnancy [which threatens the mother’s life], what about in the case of rape?" asked KTVI host Charles Jaco, in a clip that was disseminated by Talking Points Memo. "Should it be legal or not?"

"It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare,” Akin said, referring to conception following a rape. "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something, I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child."

And his response to the uproar about it is that he "misspoke". That he can't even be bothered to come up with a better rowback than that is chilling in itself, but Jesus Christ. A senate candidate clearly believes that, for a rape victim to require an abortion, the whore must have enjoyed it, and that's what he bases his policy decisions on for the women of Missouri. Terrifying.

[Hannahrain]

He seems to be coming from the perspective of somebody who doesn't really understand how common sexual assault is and how inextricably woven through the reality of being a woman it is in the present day. I'm not sure what the exact statistics are, as they tend to vary by source and often aren't reported, but I think it's probably fair to say that the majority of women who haven't been raped themselves know at least one person who has been, and likely many more than that. What I see bleeding through his comments is somebody who is abstracted enough both to miss this point and to still view "rape" as a very singular textbook crime that happens once in a great while when somebody walks by a dark alley alone, not something that happens when you don't keep an eye on your beverage or you fall asleep in the wrong place or you trust the wrong person or you don't particularly want to sleep with your husband right now.

The biological inaccuracy is its own kind of fucked up.

[chairmenmeow47]

i really hate when the abortion argument shifts to rape in general. yes it does have the advantage of revealing retards like this guy, but it's the same as arguing birth control is necessary because of people like me who need it for medical purposes. the primary use of abortion is probably not in cases of rape. and we shouldn't only keep abortion legal for rape cases. this was an outrageously stupid thing to say though.

[MissingPerson]

Somebody's pointed out to me that this ain't a new line from the Reps -

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/L...cy-3036411.php

1995-04-21 04:00:00 PDT Raleigh, N.C. -- Women do not get pregnant when raped because "the juices don't flow, the body functions don't work" during an attack, a state lawmaker said yesterday.

Republican Representative Henry Aldridge made the remarks to the House Appropriations Committee as it debated a proposal to eliminate a state abortion fund for poor women.
"The facts show that people who are raped -- who are truly raped -- the juices don't flow, the body functions don't work and they don't get pregnant," said Aldridge, a 71-year-old periodontist. "Medical authorities agree that this is a rarity, if ever."

Later, Aldridge defended his comments.

"To get pregnant, it takes a little cooperation. And there ain't much cooperation in a rape," he said.

I don't know how anybody in their right mind can abide that party, much less support it. And women too! It makes me want to scream and scream and scream.

[guedita]

Ugh. I know.

[gaypalmsprings]

August 19th, 2012 04:32 PM ET

Missouri Republican claims 'legitimate rape' rarely results in pregnancy

(CNN) – U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, who won Missouri's GOP Senate primary earlier this month and will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in November's general election, said Sunday that he misspoke when he claimed "legitimate rape" rarely resulted in pregnancy.

Answering a question about whether or not he thought abortion should be legal in the case of rape, Akin explained his opposition by citing unnamed bodily responses he said prevented pregnancy.

"First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare," Akin said of rape-induced pregnancy in an interview with KTVI. A clip of the interview was posted online by the liberal super PAC American Bridge.

"If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," Akin continued. He did not provide an explanation for what constituted "legitimate rape."

He added: "But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. You know I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child."

In a statement Sunday, Akin wrote that he misspoke in the interview. He maintained his opposition to abortion for victims of rape.

"In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year," Akin wrote. "Those who perpetrate these crimes are the lowest of the low in our society and their victims will have no stronger advocate in the Senate to help ensure they have the justice they deserve."

"I recognize that abortion, and particularly in the case of rape, is a very emotionally charged issue," Akin continued. "But I believe deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action. I also recognize that there are those who, like my opponent, support abortion and I understand I may not have their support in this election."

Statistics on pregnancies that result from rape are difficult to produce, since rape is a crime that often goes unreported. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, along with Planned Parenthood, each estimate that 5% of rapes lead to pregnancy. A 1996 study from the Medical University of South Carolina found the same percentage, adding that 32,101 pregnancies occurred annually from rape.

Akin, a six-term U.S. congressman, touted his socially conservative values on the primary campaign trail, and gained the support of 2008 presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. He was one of the first members of Congress to join the Tea Party Caucus in 2010 and has easily won re-election in recent years.

The lawmaker raised a notable $2.2 million this cycle, as of July 18.

Akin - who sits on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee - has long held a hard-line stance on abortion. He is opposed to abortions in all circumstances, and has said he also opposes the morning after pill, which he equates to abortion.

McCaskill, who is up against Akin in November's general election, almost immediately struck upon her opponent's comments Sunday, writing on Twitter: "As a woman & former prosecutor who handled 100s of rape cases, I'm stunned by Rep Akin's comments about victims this AM."

She later released a statement condemning her rival as "ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape."

“The ideas that Todd Akin has expressed about the serious crime of rape and the impact on its victims are offensive," she continued.

McCaskill's website also splashed Akin's comments across the homepage, and included a link where supporters could donate money to McCaskill's campaign.

Republicans consider McCaskill, first elected in 2006, highly vulnerable in her re-election bid for a second term. Ahead of the GOP primary, a Mason-Dixon poll showed the senator falling behind each of the three main GOP competitors in hypothetical match-ups among registered Missouri voters.

A spokeswoman for Mitt Romney wrote that the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and his running mate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, did not share Akin's sentiments on rape.

"Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," Romney campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg wrote.

[Hannahrain]

Wait, what? This is an outrage. Why didn't I hear about this sooner?

[HotHamWater]

My opinion is that, he seems to be coming from the perspective of somebody who doesn't really understand how common sexual assault is and how inextricably woven through the reality of being a woman it is in the present day. I'm not sure what the exact statistics are, as they tend to vary by source and often aren't reported, but I think it's probably fair to say that the majority of women who haven't been raped themselves know at least one person who has been, and likely many more than that. What I see bleeding through his comments is somebody who is abstracted enough both to miss this point and to still view "rape" as a very singular textbook crime that happens once in a great while when somebody walks by a dark alley alone, not something that happens when you don't keep an eye on your beverage or you fall asleep in the wrong place or you trust the wrong person or you don't particularly want to sleep with your husband right now.

The biological inaccuracy is its own kind of fucked up.

[Hannahrain]

Ill-written buffoonery.

[Hannahrain]

[SoulDischarge]

If women could just agree to not get raped, this wouldn't even have to be an argument.

[Hannahrain]

I'm really glad somebody finally gets it, though. This is what I've been saying the whole time.

[gaypalmsprings]

[TomAz]

Women falsely accusing men of rape is a far more important social issue than actual rape. Apparently the majority of you do not grasp this simple truth.

[SoulDischarge]

Especially since it's exceedingly more common than actual rape.

[TomAz]

Also, a man falsely accused of rape is more knowledgable about women's reproductive systems than women and other nobodys.

[chairmenmeow47]

i still can't believe this guy is on a science committee.

[PotVsKtl]

Akin - who sits on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee

...

[TomAz]

Science committee. can you believe it?

[JustSteve]

Wonder if he knows how magnets work?

[chairmenmeow47]

i'm somewhat regurgitating fark comments, but i think it's an interesting discussion.

why do we expect anti-abortionists (i hate the term pro-life) to allow abortions even in the case of rape? if they truly believe it's murder, why does it matter to them how the baby was conceived?

i'm extremely pro-abortion. while i do think it is a form of murder, it's not the same as killing a fully-formed (for a) newborn that can survive outside the mother.

i guess i just don't understand how anyone who calls themselves "pro-life", would then make murder exceptions based on the circumstances. honestly, i don't understand why they allow abortions for rape victims, but don't allow abortions only in the case of drug abuse by the mother. i wonder the statistical likelihood is of a child having medical issues at birth because of incest compared to drug use. in this scenario, the argument would be that abortion is only ok if the child is going to have a diminished quality of life. even that probably wouldn't be an acceptable form of murder, but i could still understand it more coming from anti-abortionists than i can wrap my brain around the rape argument.

obviously we're putting capital punishment aside in this discussion, but it seems to me that the only reason republicans say they are ok with abortion if there is rape or incest is because they could lose votes if they took an all-or-nothing approach. it doesn't fit with the idea that abortion=murder.

am i missing something or does anyone else find this perplexing? i am also genuinely curious to hear from anyone who is anti-abortion.