News Roundup for 4/25/12

Rightwing domestic violence expert

-Headline of the Day-
"Religious right lobbies against VAWA."

OK, so what's the VAWA? That's the Violence Against Women Act. Why would so-called religious leaders be against that? "[B]ecause of new provisions that ensure that LGBT victims of domestic violence do not encounter discrimination while seeking help," the report tells us.

You know, because Jesus said you ought to be able to smack lesbians around if you want.

Actually, the idea is that anything that recognizes or protects LGBT people "normalizes" them. So it's better to pretend they don't exist because... Well, that's not extremely clear.

However, unlike the other War on Women fiascos the right has staged lately, this one includes at least one honest-to-goodness expert on the subject of violence against women. According to the report, a letter to the Judiciary Committee on the subject "was also signed by conservative activist Timothy Johnson, who was convicted of a felony domestic violence charge and was arrested a second time for putting his wife in a wrist lock and choking his son."

Apparently Bluebeard was unavailable. (Maddow Blog)


-Ladies man-



Of course, it's easy to be a ladies man when the only alternative to you is a pack of misogynistic psychopaths. (McClatchy)


-Bonus HotD-
"Tennessee Rep.: Bullied Gay Children Who Killed Themselves Didn’t Have ‘Proper Principles.’"

And so we hit the conservatives-are-just-dicks trifecta. (Wonkette)

News Roundup for 10/12/11

Republican Utopia

-Headline of the Day-
"Facing Cuts, a City Repeals Its Domestic Violence Law."

Ever feel like committing a crime against your significant other? Then Topeka, Kansas is the place for you!

Yes, through the magic of Republican budget cuts, Topeka is now a paradise for alcoholic wife-beaters and emotionally unbalanced rage-freaks. Remember, that government that governs best governs least!

See, it works like this; Topeka doesn't have any money. The county doesn't have any money. And the district attorney's office doesn't have any money. So domestic violence cases get handed off every which way and the City Council finally had enough and voted to repeal the city's statute against domestic violence.

The reasoning was that, if domestic violence cases weren't covered under city statutes, then someone else would have to prosecute under state law. It's drastic, sure, but city leaders believe it beats the status quo. According to the report, "Eighteen people have been arrested on domestic violence charges since September and released without charges because no agency is accepting new cases." Whether Topeka's gambit will work or just make matters worse is unclear.

"To have public officials pointing fingers while victims of domestic violence are trying to figure out who will protect them is just stunning," said Joyce Grover, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.

So keep voting for all those tax- and budget-cutting Republicans, Kansas. Because if this proves anything, it's that you can totally pay for government with nothing but happy thoughts and rainbows. Don't let facts or math dissuade you. Those were created by Satan and liberals. (New York Times)


-Does this explain Republicans, too?-


Click to embiggen

I think it just might. (Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal)


--Bonus HotD-
"Rick Perry Off By Only Two Centuries On Dates Of The American Revolution."

It's probably some kind of record for him. (ThinkProgress)