January 19-20, 2016::End of the day round-up

As I read this, I am reminded of this meme:

Asking you to give me equal rights implies that they are yours to give. Instead I must demand that you stop trying to deny me the rights all people deserve. (Attributed to Greg Bulmash)

Ben Carson: 'Abnormal' LGBT People Shouldn't Get 'Extra Rights'

“It’s beyond ridiculous that you take the most abnormal situation and then you make everyone else conform to it. That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. That’s one of the very reasons that I have been an outspoken opponent of things like gay marriage. I don’t have any problem with gay people doing anything they want to do. You know, it’s a free country, there’s freedom of association. However, when you now impose your value system on everybody else and change fundamental definitions and principles of society, I have a big problem with that. Everybody is equal, everybody has equal rights, but nobody gets extra rights. And when we start trying to impose the extra rights based on a few people who perhaps are abnormal, where does that lead?”

"Revenant" gun made by local gunsmith WJAC https://t.co/RZNdu6fKT2 Bill's work is beautiful,,, love to see locals getting recognition!!

This is just nuts!!  If I read this correctly, these bills are just from this year (2016) - HB 1794, HB 1953, SB 644, HB1714, HB1815, SB802, HB 1370, HB 1433, SB 801, HB 1755.

Missouri Republicans to Push Anti-Choice ‘All Lives Matter’ Bill

HB 1794, sponsored by Rep. Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove), would establish the All Lives Matter Act, an example of what activists view as anti-choice legislators using the Black Lives Matter movement for their own restrictive agenda. It would amend state law to define a fertilized egg as “a person” and life as beginning at conception. So-called personhood laws have been an unmitigated failure. Voters in state after state have rejected by wide margins personhood ballot initiatives, and personhood bills have failed to gain any traction in legislatures.
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The push for personhood legislation is far from the only anti-choice measure to be considered in the upcoming session. The past five years have seen the Republican-dominated Missouri state legislature propose more anti-choice bills than any other state.

Lawmakers introduced dozens of anti-choice bills during the 2014 legislative session, and introduced dozens more during the 2015 legislative session. Few anti-choice bills have been passed with a Democratic governor in Missouri, proving an obstacle for GOP-led attempts to end legal abortion. However, the vast number of anti-choice bills introduced for 2016 has caused concern for many advocates.

The state legislature convened Wednesday, and lawmakers have already filed an assortment of anti-choice bills that restrict reproductive health care, including prohibiting physicians from using specific abortion procedures, restricting minors’ access to abortion care, and appropriating the rhetoric of racial justice activists in the so-called All Lives Matter bill.
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Lawmakers introduced dozens of anti-choice bills during the 2014 legislative session, and introduced dozens more during the 2015 legislative session. Few anti-choice bills have been passed with a Democratic governor in Missouri, proving an obstacle for GOP-led attempts to end legal abortion. However, the vast number of anti-choice bills introduced for 2016 has caused concern for many advocates. 

The state legislature convened Wednesday, and lawmakers have already filed an assortment of anti-choice bills that restrict reproductive health care, including prohibiting physicians from using specific abortion procedures, restricting minors’ access to abortion care, and appropriating the rhetoric of racial justice activists in the so-called All Lives Matter bill. 
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Despite a state investigation that cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing, lawmakers have introduced a pair of bills that would change state law governing the donation of fetal tissue. These bills include several other targeted regulations of abortion providers (TRAP) laws, including the creation of reporting requirements and admitting privilege requirements for abortion providers, along with ambulatory surgical center (ASC) licensing and inspections.

CBS host challenges Paul Ryan on Obamacare repeal attempt ‘How is that an alternative'

Paul Ryan called out for his act of appeasing Right Wing ideologues in yet another irresponsible bill to repeal Obamacare.

Moderator John Dickerson noted that Paul Ryan said he wanted the Republicans to offer an alternative to the president. Yet one of the first things he did this year, was to offer a repeal of Obamacare. "How is that an alternative?" Dickerson asked.

"It's not," Paul Ryan admitted. "That's why we have to come up with an alternative. So, you're right about that."
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The President has been asking all of those who are opposed to Obamacare to come up with ideas to make it better for over 5 years. Republicans have never committed to providing a practical alternative or any modifications of consequence. The reason why of course is that Obamacare actually follows conservative principles articulated by the conservative think tank the Heritage foundation. Otherwise America would have had the more sensible solution, Medicare for all / Single Payer health care.

As I have mentioned before, I am following the Oregon Bundy debacle from afar.  One of my comrades, regarding the SovCit Movement in regards to Kent Hovind, has been following it much closer; offering some interesting commentary.  For those interested, he can be found here:  Kent Hovind and Jo Hovind v USA - IRS https://t.co/lUIAo0M6Cz

Explainer: The Bundy Militia’s Particular Brand Of Mormonism

“I’m Captain Moroni, from Utah.”

That’s how one militiaman at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge responded to OPB’s Amanda Peacher when she asked for his name.

That name is not a silly response to deflect responsibility: In many ways, it encapsulates a deeply intertwined anti-federal sentiment mixed with Mormon symbolism. Captain Moroni is a crucial figure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He’s also a heroic figure for anti-federalist extremists.

In the modern day west, Captain Moroni has become one of several powerful symbols for the Bundy militia’s anti-governmental extremism.

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Ultimately, the small town Abraham Bundy founded would be abandoned, after the Bundy family could not secure water and grazing rights from the federal government.

Bundy has previously said in interviews that relocation played a significant role in shaping his family’s outlook toward the federal government.

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“The main reason we’re here is because we need a place to stand,” Bundy said. “We stand in defense, and when the time is right we will begin to defend the people of Harney County in using the land and the resources.”