As reported by Latino Rebels, the Texas Republican Party's Executive Committee has at least one member who might be better suited for another organization, perhaps one with a uniform featuring pointed white hoods:
Legvold, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Cuban descent, supported her argument by posting links from StormFront, the pro-racism forum described by the Anti-Defamation league as "a veritable supermarket of online hate." (after the jump)
As long as we're on the subject of misleading political advertising today, let's have a look at where fracking proponents come from (hint: The stork doesn't bring them, because the stork is dead after it ate fish poisoned by fracking spills).
Anne Kern, cast here as an everyday rancher whose neighbors were "surprised" when she allowed fracking on her land, is perhaps the least surprising frackster you can imagine: Annie Brewster Kern, a staff member for Republican Senator Wayne Allard from 2002-2009. It's nice to know you've found a new calling as an actress since Allard left office, Annie, but your role as "Ordinary Rancher Woman" is unconvincing. I give your debut performance two glasses of delicious, nutritious fracking fluid down (the hatch, Governor).
POLS UPDATE: Sources close to the school board candidates "supported" by the robocall described below insist that this recording did not originate with their campaigns, or anyone linked to them. Several sources indicate that, despite the call's ostensible targeting of "fellow Republicans," it was widely sent to Democratic voters in Denver. If correct, that would seem to indicate this robocall was a "false flag" attack, seeking to undermine support for these candidates by "outing" them as closet conservatives. We'll update as this unusual story develops.
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This year's Denver School Board candidates apparently tripped, fell, and landed in Douglas County while the rest of us weren't looking, if this bizarre voicemail to "fellow Republicans" (yes, all six of you who live in Denver!) is any indication:
According to the cheery, robotic disembodied voice, Landri Taylor and Barbara O'Brien "share our conservative values" and will help parents send their kids to schools "free of the liberal agenda." Christian schools and vouchers are specifically mentioned, in connection with one another, just in case you needed the point driven home with a sledgehammer.
Maybe Scott Gessler should have suspended his campaign to work on Denver races, instead? DougCo seems to be doing a good job of electing far-right School Board members without the Honey Badger's help. Here in Denver, it looks like he'd have an opportunity to help send even more tax dollars to Christian schools, and right under Diana DeGette's nose, too. Now that's a Honey Badger move.
(End note: I absolutely hate Denver School Board races, and if this weren't so utterly bizarre, I wouldn't have posted it. And frankly, I like Landri Taylor. But seriously, what the heck? Is this Opposites Year? Multiple DSB candidates selling a pro-voucher stance?)
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) today served up two scoops of delicious irony, and perhaps the best illustration possible of the difference between bluster and policymaking. From Cantor's Twitter feed:
Except, they were actually setting up for a press conference. Hence the half-table left empty for media microphones.
The Colbert skit writes itself, doesn't it?
Jaxine Bubis only wrote erotica "to support her family," but she's got her eyes on a bigger prize than the meager royalties from "Beantown Heat": $54,000,000 in damages, demanded in a claim naming GOP State Chairman Ryan Call, El Paso County GOP Chair Jeff Hays, and others. The RMGO-endorsed would-be replacement for Senate President John Morse withdrew from her race following revelations about her erotic romance writings. Now, she wants compensation for the alleged illegal downloading and distribution of her NC-17 rated e-book, and for what Jaxine's criminal complaint calls "Terrorist Conspiracy to Trespass, Injury, and Harm a Woman."
Jaxine's Claim "by Affidavit of Obligation," described as "A USSEC Tracer Flag Not a Point of Law," names Jeff Hays, Ryan Call, Paul Paradis, Bernie Herpin, and Kit Roupe as "Debtors," and claims the aforementioned are, "Using their labor and works to intimidate, slander, libel and defame (Jaxine) by way of stolen and pirated copyrighted materials (Book)." The claim is notarized by EmilyAnne Witt, verifying Jaxine's identity, and witnessed by Kyndra Slater-Cleaver and Patrick Mitchell. In her claim, Jaxine demands an immediate down payment of one million dollars from the above-named "Debtors," with the remainder of $54,000,000 (treble damages for a "claim of harm upon a woman") to be turned over within 90 days.
And that's where it gets weird…
Continue reading to learn who's advising Jaxine in her legal claim, and why he may believe Colorado doesn't exist.
UPDATE: According to the Denver daily paper, Ken Buck has filed paperwork with the FEC to run for Senate in 2014, making Owen Hill debatably, by a slim margin, the second-least laughable of the 2014 Republican US Senate primary candidates. I'm quite sure that the lessons Buck learned from losing his last Senate race have prepared him to lose this one much better.
Owen Hill, by a slim margin the least laughable (so far) of 2014 Republican US Senate primary candidates, informed supporters of some important breaking news today. A fundraising email dated August 7 breathlessly declares, "Breaking: Inside source says Udall only fears Owen Hill."
UPDATE: I almost ended this post with the line, "How dumb do you think Latinos are?" but I'm glad I didn't, because it turns out that question has a sad, sad answer. According to the author of Heritage's controversial report, the report they are still pushing, the answer is "0.72 standard deviations, suggesting a Hispanic-American IQ of 89.2." Jason Richwine later resigned from The Heritage Foundation after his enormously racist dissertation went viral.
Rather than withdrawing the report authored by a now-notorious racist, Heritage simply swept it under the rug for a couple of months and then put it back on their blog this week. Yep. This story is literally that ridiculous. The group trying to teach the GOP how to reach Latino voters employed, and still supports the work of, someone who thinks those Latino voters are a danger to the country because they're just so darn genetically stupid.
Oh, isn't that nice? A free event teaching conservatives "how to message to Hispanic voters more effectively." Sounds like something the GOP desperately needs. Let's take a peep at what's on the menu…
Topics will include:
– Public Policy: Hispanics, economics, education, and family.
– Working with Hispanic media.
– Effectively communicating our values.
Well, that can't be all bad, can it? Republicans must have noticed that they didn't do too well last year with Latino voters, and now they're trying to bring Latinos into the fold. Perhaps the sponsors are among the many Republicans who support comprehensive immigration reform. Could it be they'll discuss the economic benefits of immigration? Highlight Latino-owned businesses? Praise the strong family values and faith-based traditions common in Latino families?
Oh, myyyyy! Christian conservative-supported Morse recall proponent, Jaxine Bubis, moonlights as erotica author Jaxine Daniels. Gun shop owner Paul Paradis pulled the trigger today on a breathless, hand-wringing email outing Bubis and begging fellow Republicans to deny her their support. (Incidentally, Paradis is said to be a close friend of the other candidate hoping to oppose Senate President John Morse in a recall election, Bernie Herpin.)
“Beantown Heat” by Jaxine Daniels, a.k.a. Jaxine Bubis.
Intra-party maneuvering aside, this is pretty juicy stuff for a self-described "grammy who writes erotic romance." Her erotic fiction escapades included "Beantown Heat," an "anthology of sensual romance" centered on the sexy summer activities of Boston College staff members.
A pearl-clutching Paradis censored the juicy bits out of an "EXPLICIT & GROSS" excerpt quoted in his email, but methinks the creativity of Polsters will serve to fill gaps:
"Now *** ******* were deep inside her. She could feel herself clamp down > on him, aching for his **** inside her. But then he leaned down and began > sucking and licking her, as his fingers moved slowing in and out. In and > out." > (Pg. 65, Beantown Heat, BY Jaxine Bubis)
My personal favorite synopsis, from 2006's "Promise to Believe," appears to be an attempt to cash in on the horror-rotica trend started by the outsized success of Twilight:
The least surprising news of the week (okay, it's only Monday) comes from KHOW, where controversial hard-right radio host Peter Boyles has been fired, according to 9News. Boyles was recently said to be involved in a "heated physical altercation" with producer Greg Hollenback. Multiple sources reported that red marks were seen on Hollenback's neck following the incident with Boyles.
Yoda could have warned the notoriously immigrant-bashing, Islamophobic, "birther" radio host that it might come to this:
Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
I'll shed no tears for a fearful, angry hater who is now minus a radio job–but I do hope, for the sake of his family and fans, that Boyles has sought any necessary and appropriate care indicated following an alleged violent outburst toward a longtime friend and colleague. If Boyles seeks help and eventually chooses to discuss whatever challenges led him to make a (likely career-ending) move as serious as allegedly attacking his producer, he might do more good for his audience than he ever did as a political commentator.
It's almost too good to be true (although Lynn Bartels reported it first, in 2011, it's worth resurfacing now): Embattled former presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann, the Minnesota Congressional Representative taking heat from an ethics investigation, whistle-blowing former staff, and more, got one of her closest staff members from none other than Marilyn Musgrave. The latter once appeared on a bipartisan list of the "13 most corrupt members of Congress," thanks to allegations that Musgrave misused her Congressional office for campaign purposes.
Guy Short, Musgrave's Chief of Staff, served as National Political Director for Bachmann's ill-fated presidential bid. And Colorado's contribution to the Bachmann team is alleged to be directly involved in Bachmann's alleged intentional campaign finance violations:
Former staffers tell The Daily Beast that investigators have allegedly asked about allegations of improper transfer of funds and under-the-table payments actions by Bachmann’s presidential campaign, specifically in relation to the campaign’s national political director, Guy Short, and Bachmann’s onetime Iowa campaign chairman, state Sen. Kent Sorenson.
(emphasis mine)
Michelle Bachmann's past antics included a call for investigations by the media into "which members of Congress are anti-America." If potentially having violated American law knowingly counts, I guess she got her wish. Somehow, I doubt she'll cooperate with the media's investigation in this instance, though.
And as for Short, I just want to know how he phrases this skill on his LinkedIn profile: "Specialist in working with the deranged and allegedly corrupt?" "Doesn't let a few alleged campaign finance violations stop him from getting the job done?" "Can describe with a straight face political positions that make candidate a national laughingstock?"
And have Musgrave and Bachmann endorsed him for those? Will they be posting a recommendation?
Washington Post political blog The Fix has released a list, generated from nominations through the blog, Twitter, and Facebook, of the best, most-read political reporters in all 50 states. Some of our favorites here made Colorado's list:
Congrats to the few, the proud, the over-caffeinated, exhausted, and still enthusiastic, Colorado's best political reporters!
Special shout-out to Peter Marcus, the only Colorado reporter to make the list while working for a niche publication not owned and operated by a giant media conglomerate. That's hustle. But where is Ernest? Oh, well, I guess even The Fix misses a beat sometimes.
One more thing: Is it just me, or is Colorado producing especially good journalistic talent lately? I think anyone on this list could go toe to toe with the national big-name journos and come out with her or his head held high. If it weren't for the voodoo doll in my desk–I mean, his deep attachment to Colorado and passionate dedication to his network–I'm sure Stokols would have been snatched up by a national network already. (I'd take him over Wolf Blitzer, but shift Anderson Cooper off my screen at your peril…) We seem to grow 'em talented around here, especially the last few years.
In a stunning turn of events, Fox 31's Eli Stokols reveals today that the National Rifle Association is funding a lawsuit that dovetails with all the priorities of the National Rifle Association. The lawsuit's lead attorney, whose arguments mirror the policy positions of the National Rifle Association, has apparently received money from the National Rifle Association:
Dave Kopel, the Independence Institute’s resident Second Amendment expert, is the lead attorney on the lawsuit.
And FOX31 Denver has found that Kopel has received $1.39 million in grant money from the N.R.A. Civil Rights Defense Fund between 2004 and 2011. The group continues to fund Kopel, although tax information from 2012 and 2013 isn’t yet available.
“They’re the oldest civil rights organization in the United States,” Kopel told FOX31 Denver this week. “I’m a well-known Second Amendment expert and researcher. It would make sense that they would support what I do.”
The report by Fox also discovered that a group of 55 modestly compensated public servants did not provide the $1.39 million paid by the National Rifle Association to the lawyer whose positions mirror those of the National Rifle Association. However, the lawyer who received $1.39 million from the National Rifle Association insists that 55 modestly compensated public servants are sincerely and deeply concerned about the priorities of the National Rifle Association.
At press time, the National Rifle Association had not yet commented officially on the National Rifle Association's sponsorship of a lawyer whose positions mirror the policy statements of the National Rifle Association who is filing a lawsuit primarily consisting of contentions found in the policy positions of the National Rifle Association, but the National Rifle Association is expected to, at any moment, release a public statement clarifying that the National Rifle Association agrees with the principled views of 55 modestly compensated public servants.
2010 Colorado Grassroots Leadership Award winner and one of "Campaigns and Elections" magazine's top five Republican influencers in Colorado, Michelle Morin, didn't mince words in a public Facebook post Thursday, alleging that gay unions would lead to the normalization of child rape. In her own words:
Morin was commenting on her own status post, in which she declared liberty unimportant when compared to critical things like the founding fathers' (read: Morin's) definition of "virtue":
But this isn't a blog post about Michelle Morin saying something stupid. You can read her own blog for that. No, this is a blog post about Republicans and Tea Party affiliated Libertarians finally having had enough of the kind of outright hateful bigotry Morin displays here.
Let's all take a moment today to recognize a piece of well-written, sensible legislation. SB 13-226, the "Dog Protection Act," is on its way to the Senate floor after receiving unanimous committee approval. Cosponsors in the Senate are David Balmer (R-Centennial) and Lucia Guzman (D-Denver). Their House counterparts are Lois Court (D-Denver) and Don Coram (R-Montrose).
The proposed legislation reacts to a rash of dog shootings by law enforcement, characterized by pet dogs and service animals killed without giving owners a chance to contain their pets. Some such incidents were captured on video, showing no trace of aggression on the dog's part. Most police officers aren't animal behavior experts and may mistake a friendly greeting for an aggressive display.
To reduce needless deaths of non-dangerous dogs, the Dog Protection Act empowers a twenty-three member volunteer task force to create training for law enforcement officers on dealing with dogs. The legislation requires that, in non-violent situations, law enforcement must give dog owners a chance to contain their dogs before using lethal force. This requirement allows for flexibility according to any exigencies present, such as whether officers are responding to a call involving a dog that has bitten a person.
4/2 POLS UPDATE: For future reference, please note the posted date of this story. Thank you.
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Colorado's controversial Secretary of State, Scott Gessler, today launched a volunteer drive for his reelection campaign by announcing what he's calling "Honey Badges," wearable tokens of Gessler's esteem to be presented for volunteer-hour milestones. Not satisfied with autographing his "Honey Badger" Westword cover for campaign donors, the SoS will offer Honey Badges as rewards for volunteer tasks throughout his reelection campaign. Volunteers who collect Honey Badges can redeem them for prizes at various levels.
Welcome, Andrea Tantaros! The conservative radio host is in town to present the Leadership Program of the Rockies' lunch keynote tomorrow, entitled "America, Let's Play Pretend: How the Left is Leading the Country Toward the Land of Make-Believe."
Andrea's been practicing for her big speech by pretending that unvaccinated immigrants from Mexico and Latin America are responsible for recent outbreaks of pertussis (aka whooping cough) in the United States. On her 2/21 radio broadcast, Tantaros agrees with a caller who blames immigrants for "over 1000 cases" of whooping cough in the caller's allegedly previously pertussis-free county. (Fast forward to about 1:34:30 to hear the relevant segment.)
All those undocumented immigrants probably couldn't afford to be vaccinated, and are bringing germs into the country, getting responsible Americans sick and bringing back previously eradicated diseases. Makes perfect sense, if you're already a person who considers immigrants a gross, unwanted underclass.
The problem is, it's, yes… make-believe. There's literally no scientific evidence for this theory. As it turns out, it's mostly our own fault, grownups who were immunized, but whose immunity has worn off over the years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
It is often suggested that pertussis outbreaks can be attributed to people "importing" the disease when they come to the U.S. from other countries, but this is not the case. Prior to vaccination, there were upwards of 200,000 cases and 9,000 deaths from pertussis every year in the U.S. alone. While we have greatly reduced the burden of pertussis through vaccination, it was never eliminated. It is always present in our communities. Further, reduction in the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases, including pertussis, is one of the great successes of public health. Every country vaccinates children against pertussis, and in the Americas, every country has achieved pertussis vaccine coverage of 78 percent or higher. While all people should be vaccinated on time according to the recommended schedule, under-vaccination is not the cause of the current outbreaks…. we usually find that most pertussis occurs among vaccinated people. This does not mean that the vaccine doesn't work, it just means that most people are vaccinated but protection wears off.
And Mexican immigrants are likely more immune than people immunized as Americans:
Mexico does a great job vaccinating for pertussis. Until just a few years ago, Mexico was using the whole-cell vaccine, which is probably more effective than the acellular vaccine that has been used in the U.S. since the 1990s.
Wow, that makes it kind of hard to blame Mexicans for whooping cough, doesn't it? What a shame for the people who like to–wait for it–play make-believe that the old "Dirty Mexican" stereotype is actually just a sensible, prudent reaction to germy immigrants.
But please, Ms. Tantaros, tell us more about how the left is leading the country toward the land of make-believe. Just give us a second, first. We need to use our hand sanitizer and pop some Airborne before you start talking. As a vaccinated American adult, you're a whole lot more likely to give us a pertussis infection than are most immigrants, and with a disease like whooping cough, you just can't be too careful.
Violently anti-gay and weirdly pro-sex offender El Paso County Chair candidate Dave Williams (part one, part two, part three) lost his race one week ago today. Williams earned 41% of central committee members' votes, to opponent Jeff Hays' 59%. When even conservative talk radio started calling for Williams to step aside because of his inability to fairly represent gay Republicans, it became obvious that change is in the air even in the most conservative parts of the GOP. "You can't win elections with just wealthy, white, evangelical Christian, heterosexual males" is sinking in. Even more importantly, the people who simply believe there's nothing conservative about bullying gays–people like Jason Worley and Ken Clark–are getting their voices heard.
But change won't be easy. It'll be slow, painful, and over the dead careers of many of today's Republican legislators. Take, for example, freshman Senator Owen Hill, who, when he isn't "signing" letters as a representative of a nonexistent Senate district, is apparently given to using rhetoric like "He's half-Hispanic, therefore we'll get Hispanic votes!" to endorse Dave Williams. Hill, who joined with Representative Lambert to nominate Williams at the El Paso County GOP assembly, sent a bizarre letter (after the jump) on behalf of Williams. (Whether or not he wrote or signed it, I'll leave to the reader's discretion, but he certainly attached his name.)
"Dave Williams is half-Hispanic himself and is our best spokesman to win over Hispanic families who should be voting Republican…"
The latest weapon in the war between cost reduction and animal welfare: So-called ag-gag laws, which criminalize whistleblower investigations of animal cruelty. These "see no evil" measures protect agricultural enterprises at the expense of workers and consumers. Although these investigations enjoy the support of 71% of Americans, they mean huge costs for big ag. That's why laws that turn whistleblowers into felons have been introduced in eight states already, and why this destructive legislative agenda is likely to arrive in Colorado by 2015.
In a landmark 2008 case, a judgement totaling nearly half a billion dollars was entered against a meat supplier caught on film torturing "downer" cattle to get them to rise and walk to their deaths. Among other horrific abuses, workers were videotaped ramming collapsed cattle with a forklift. Downer cattle can't be sold for human consumption because they may risk transmitting Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis, aka "Mad Cow Disease."
Needless to say, industrial agriculture isn't eager to accept up to $500,000,000 in possible liability, on top of ever-increasing operating costs. The American public consistently demands more, cheaper animal products, to the tune of 200 million additional pounds of meat year-over-year. Instead of establishing procedures to avoid animal abuse and the associated food safety risks, agribusiness has elected to push legislation that protects abusive businesses and hurts workers. Let's take a look:
In covering Dave Williams this week, I've repeated over and over that the GOP is at a crossroads when it comes to gay rights: Can it still be acceptable in a major political party to refuse to treat gays with even basic human decency? Dave Williams is a convenient avatar for a type of Republican that is dying out, and none too soon. Today, we've got an example of what's arriving in his place: Conservative thinkers who not only invite GBLT Americans into their party, but who will actually stand up for them.
Earlier today, I posted about Dave Williams' extreme hostility toward the GBLT community, and the anti-gay bullying which led to Dave's impeachment as UCCS student body president. Yesterday, we covered Dave's disturbing, quasi-violent response to a request for an apology to the gay Army colonel he booed at the 2012 Republican state convention. Because Dave is so deeply committed to opposing homosexuality, one might assume he'd be even more intolerant of deviant sexual behavior that actually harms others, right?
Wrong.
The evidence below will show that Dave Williams has repeatedly gone to bat for the rights of registered sex offenders, while he's unwilling to extend the same courtesy to gays.
Let's take a look.
UPDATE: The Colorado Log Cabin Republicans confirm that George Gramer, a US Army Colonel, was booed at the May, 2012 GOP state convention by El Paso County Republicans, including admitted boo-er Dave Williams. However, no Log Cabin representative was able to confirm previous allegations that anti-gay slurs were used. At the same convention, nearly 50% of Republicans supported a resolution favoring civil unions, and Ryan Call, Colorado Republican Party Chairman, scolded booers at the assembly for their lack of respect, as well as apologizing directly to the Log Cabin Republicans and to George personally for the booers' boorish behavior. Kudos to Call for behaving in a statesmanlike fashion when faced with bad actors within his party.
Last night's post was just a teaser.
Today, in part two of three (yes, there's more!) let's really dig into Dave Williams, El Paso County GOP Vice Chair and a current candidate for El Paso County Republican Party Chair. Specifically, let's talk about his, ah, strained relationship to the gay community, and what that means for the leadership of a county where homosexuality has frequently dominated political discourse.
At least he's not your future county Republican party chair… unless he is.
Earlier today, Jason broke the story that Dave Williams, aspiring El Paso County Republican Party Chairman, doesn't regret booing the Log Cabin Republicans at a Republican party assembly in May. Tonight, Williams was again asked to apologize for booing the GBLT Republican group, and instead of an apology, responded with this somewhat pathological Facebook post:
You think OUR Republican legislators have introduced some clunkers this session? At least we're not living in the Volunteer State. A failed Tennessee "Don't Say Gay" bill that helped to propel George Takei to surprising social media fame is back, and it's worse than before.
(Promoted by Colorado Pols)
Tom Tancredo, immigration hater extraordinaire, seems to have crossed the line from making up his beliefs to making up his own facts to support them. His interaction last night with our very own Elliot Fladen was caught on video, which was posted today by Latino Rebels: Tancredo makes up Hispanic voter statistics.
As you’ll see from the video, the topic of discussion was “Do Hispanics vote based on a candidate’s immigration policies?” Tancredo attempts to defend his thesis that they don’t, by highlighting Romney’s 40% of the Hispanic vote in Arizona. The only problem is, that never happened. In fact, Romney got just over half that percentage. (more…)
Remember the bill that brought me to this blog? It was a convoluted, confused mess of a giveaway to animal abusers, legislation written so poorly that clear beneficiaries like the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association testified against it because it was so hard to understand, and wound up dying in committee with only its sponsor’s vote in its favor. Fast forward to 2012: A much better animal cruelty law reform bill passed with bipartisan support, and with the support of the Colorado animal rescue community. The 2012 legislation provides accountability for impound costs, allows an owner’s vet to examine impounded animals within 72 hours, and provides for the return of paid impound costs if the owner is found not guilty of charges relating to impounded animals. It’s a good bill, and rescue organizations–recognizing that they, too, need checks and balances–were in favor.
Now, fast forward to today. (more…)
