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Virginia Gov. McDonnell (R) just forced state health board to shut down ALL abortion clinics!
Fri Sep 14, 2012 at 06:34 PM PDT
Virginia Gov. McDonnell (R) just forced state health board to shut down ALL abortion clinics!
by BruinKid
Rachel Maddow just reported on this. Under pressure from Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R), the state Board of Health reversed their prior ruling and applied a new trap law designed to shut down every single abortion clinic in the entire state.
Opponents of the regulations, which include minimum hallway widths, specific ventilation systems and covered entrances, argue that they are medically unnecessary and meant for the construction of new hospitals -- not as regulations for existing outpatient abortion clinics. None of the 20 clinics in the state that are applying for a new license currently meet the requirements, and in order to come into compliance in the allotted two-year time period they would have to undergo costly, extensive renovations.
The board voted to pass the regulations in June along with an amendment that would have grandfathered in existing clinics. But Cuccinelli refused to certify the version the board passed and told members that adopting such an amendment was outside their scope of power. He said the legislation that directed the board to regulate abortion clinics as hospitals, sponsored by Del. Kathy Byron (R-Lynchburg), did not intend for existing clinics to be exempt. The legislation called for the board to pass regulations on building specifics.
More from the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-board-of-health-again-considers-abortion-clinic-regulations/2012/09/14/0938b9fa-fe32-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html .
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/14/1132070/-BREAKING-VA-Gov-McDonnell-R-just-forced-state-health-board-to-shut-down-ALL-abortion-clinics
A Summary of Politics -- Or What Has Obama Done?
Thu Sep 13, 2012 at 07:52 PM PDT
My submission to DailyKos Comics.
by weatherdude
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/13/1131612/-My-submission-to-DailyKos-Comics
"Get the body bags ready"
Fri Sep 14, 2012 at 03:14 AM PDT
"Get the body bags ready"
by Denise Oliver Velez
was the stark and sobering ending to an opinion piece in the LA Times yesterday by Paul Whitefield, "Skipping down the road to war with Romney" http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-romney-hard-line-on-foreign-policy-20120913,0,4540016.story .
He states that he is glad Romney has spoken his bit on Obama's foreign policy, no matter how wrong-headed because he is letting us all see just what kind of President he would be.
So, yes, I’m glad Romney’s letting us know now what kind of foreign policy he’d pursue as president. And I’m going to take him at his word that he’d get tough with Iran, that he’d stand by Israel to the end, even if that end meant another U.S.-led war in the Middle East.
And I’m going to remember that when I vote on Nov. 6. Because now I have two teenage sons. And now I know for sure that when a Republican presidential candidate talks tough, it pays to listen -- and to get the body bags ready.
It wasn't a long piece by any means. It made the point. We are still winding down in Afghanistan. We are still losing the lives of our men and women in service to the U.S. in and out of uniform. If we fall prey to the knee-jerk jingoism being hyped by Romney and his friends, fueled by images of protests from extremists around our embassies, rather than remembering these faces
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we will be in deep, deep, trouble.
On the Rachel Maddow show last night her correspondent in Egypt, Richard Engel, pointed out that while news photos show groups of enflamed protesters around our embassy, life in the rest of the city goes on as usual. Yes, we will have to cope with anti-US sentiment, and jihadist Salafist factions seeking the world stage, but to allow Mitt Romney the audacity of promoting himself as the person (surrounded by neo-cons) who will fix any of this from a seat in the oval office is a joke, but one with dire consequences.
Mitt Romney, please take a seat in the empty chair provided to you by Clint Eastwood.
We have a qualified Commander in Chief, diplomat, and President already.
We are going to make sure he has four more years.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/14/1131675/--Get-the-body-bags-ready
Want to know just how good Clinton's speech was? Check this out.
Sat Sep 08, 2012 at 06:54 AM PDT
Want to know just how good Clinton's speech was? Check this out.
by PuzzleX
You thought Bill Clinton was good at giving speeches? You have no idea just how good. You've just got to read "Conversation with a Teleprompter" from the New Yorker, published yesterday, September 7th.
I'll give you my own spin of it below the squiggle.
Let's start with this fact: not a lot of information can fit on a teleprompter.
So you're Clinton, and you're standing in front of 40,000 cheering delegates, you're on national TV, you're giving a speech that'll burnish your legacy -- and you see this in the teleprompter:
tough, constant
conflict may be good
politics, but in the
real world,
I'd wager 99 out of 100 politicians read this word for word. Because it's probably all you can do to read it without fumbling and read it with some sense of emotion.
Now, if Bill Clinton did say it word-for-word, he'd have something pretty good:
But where most politicians are reading the final draft and would be too fearful to mess it up by improvising, what Clinton sees in the teleprompter is like the first draft to him. He is playing off the energy of the crowd. He's synthesizing a lifetime of public speaking instantly. And on the spot, he comes back with sheer poetry:
The article from the New Yorker is filled with example after example, identifying the poetry in his improvisations. I highly recommend you check it out; you'll have fun reliving the speech, and you'll realize you missed half of what an amazing speech it truly was. And if you want more, you can also check out the full breakdown http://www.buzzfeed.com/nycsouthpaw/inside-bill-clintons-epic-convention-speech-4xje .
Oh, yeah -- one more thing. If you're wondering how many people are aware of how fun it is to hear a speech from Clinton: Clinton's speech outdrew the first NFL game of the year http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bill-clinton-defeats-nfl-in-wednesday-viewership/2012/09/06/552d7c82-f86b-11e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_story.htmlm .
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/08/1129269/-Want-to-know-just-how-good-Clinton-s-speech-was-Check-this-out
Dear GOP: No, You Can't
Fri Sep 07, 2012 at 03:43 PM PDT
Dear GOP: No, You Can't
by Crashing Vor
Okay Republicans, we have to have a talk.
No, no. Look at me.
I understand you are upset today. You have watched this week while the big people you made faces at reached into your political playpen and took away your favorite shiny toys. This wasn't done to be cruel or simply make you bawl. This was done because we, the grownups of our house, have finally come to realize that you cannot be trusted with nice things.
Oh, I know you're frustrated. I hear your inconsolable cries that it's not fair and you waaaaaaaaaant it. Believe me, honey, I know. But you keep breaking our nice things and hitting your brothers and sisters with them.
That's why you no longer get to play with your toy soldiers. You see, they're not really toys. They are real men and women. When you swing them around wildly and bash your brothers with them, it hurts them, too. We can't afford to break any more. So you can't play with them anymore.
We know how you love the toy cash register we got you, but we have to take that, too. You see, we got it for you hoping you would learn about money, how we trade with it, pass it back and forth, get things of value with it. But you don't seem to know how it works. You just want to keep all the coins and bills, to eat them and stuff them in your diapers. So I'm afraid we have to take that as well.
And that word game we used to play, the "USA! USA!" game? I'm afraid you no longer get to play that anymore. You see, the point of that game was for everyone to get excited and have fun. But once you started keeping the rhythm of our chant by beating on your brothers and sisters, it became clear that you didn't understand the game. Until you grow old enough to understand that our chanting game isn't an excuse to hurt others, we can't allow you to play it.
Now, honey, I know you're not going to like this, but we're going to have to take away your special badge, too, the one you're so proud of, the gold star that says, "CONSERVATIVE."
I know, honey, and we're sorry. It's our fault. We really should have explained better what the word means before we let you wear that badge. You see, "conservatives" keep safe the things we have, make sure they are available for others to enjoy, that they're kept clean and working, so that others can play with them and that, someday, they can be passed on to your children, too. That's what it means to "conserve."
I know we didn't explain it well enough. That's why you came to think that "CONSERVATIVE" meant "boss" and "in charge" and "you have to give me all the toys." We don't blame you, dears. The fault is ours.
But, until you grow mature enough to understand what "CONSERVATIVE" really means, we'll have to hold the badge for now.
It has sharp edges and we don't want you to hurt anyone else with it.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/07/1129135/-Dear-GOP-No-You-Can-t
GOP Seeks to Overturn Voting Rights Act of 1965
Published on Friday, September 7, 2012 by Common Dreams
Voting Rights Under Attack as GOP Seeks to Overturn Historic Civil Rights Law
- Common Dreams staff
Civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) told the audience at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night, “we have come too far together to ever turn back,” warning that Republican-led voter suppression laws are taking America back to the days when states had the right to deny voting capabilities to minority voters. Voting rights for minority voters continue to come under attack as Republican leaders are now turning to the Supreme Court to overturn historic civil rights legislation.
Several federal judges recently struck down voter suppression laws in multiple states, introduced by Republican legislators and governors, such as voter identification laws, provisional voting restrictions, limits on voter registration drives, and reduced availability for early voting...
SNIP
...However, as Chris McGreal at the Guardian reports today, "Several state governments are (now) looking to the conservative-leaning supreme court, which has already expressed its doubts about racially-based policy," in order to overturn these rulings. This step would seek to challenge the historic Voter Rights Act of 1965, which gave the federal government some control over voting rules in states with a history of blocking African Americans from voting.
In question is Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires "pre-clearance" for nine states – Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia – before making changes to voting laws or procedures.
Civil rights leaders and activists have expressed concern over whether the Supreme Court will actually uphold this anti-discrimination law...
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/07-4
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