Fighting the Fight on Drones

You're gonna need to sit down for this one. There's a reality-based bill proposed in the House of Representatives and it's co-sponsored by not just a repug but a repug from - wait for it - Texas.

Kevin Gosztola at Firedoglake:

Legislation sponsored by two members of the House of Representatives has been introduced to regulate how the government uses drones. The legislation would require law enforcement to get a search warrant or some other kind of judicial approval for surveillance before using drones to investigate criminal wrongdoing. It would, however, allow drone use for fire and rescue missions, monitoring droughts, assessing flood damage or chasing a fleeing criminal.

The bill was introduced on February 13 by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Demcorat from California, and Ted Poe, a Republican from Texas. The introduction was praised by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

“Unmanned drones must not become a perpetual presence in our lives, hovering over us, following us and recording our every move,” said Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for the ACLU. ”Strict rules should govern the use of drones by the government. By requiring that law enforcement secure judicial approval before using drones, this legislation achieves the right balance for the use of these eyes in the sky.”

The ACLU noted the bill would also require all government agencies “register all drones” and the “results of criminal investigation involving the technology” would have to be “reported to Congress.” It also would reportedly prohibit law enforcement from arming drones.

 A bill's on the table. Let's fight this fight.

Fourth District's Teabagger Tom Votes to Crash Economy

I hope all you Democrats who sat at home in November instead of stopping this conservatard from representing us in Congress are proud of yourselves.

From Votenote:

Short-Term Suspension of Debt Limit – Final Passage - Vote Passed (285-144, 3 Not Voting)

The House temporarily defused a looming crisis over the debt limit last by passing a bill that, rather than raising the limit – that is, setting a new cap on the federal government’s borrowing authority – actually suspends it – meaning there technically is no limit – until May 19, at which point the limit would be reset at a new, higher level, to reflect government borrowing activity in the interim period. In addition, the bill would institute an enforcement mechanism for each house of Congress to pass a FY 2014 budget resolution. Beginning April 15, if a chamber has not passed a budget, that chamber’s members would not receive their paychecks. This would carry on until the earlier of passage of a budget or the last day of the 113th Congress. Though House Democrats mostly decried the bill as a gimmick, President Obama has stated he will sign the bill if it reaches him.

Rep. Thomas Massie voted NO......send

"It's got to be up to you."

The momentum is with us this time, and calls to your congresscorpions (tm JuanitaJean) will make a difference.



Full transcript here.

"Worst Confederate Traitors" Includes Rogers, Guthrie

Down With Tyranny names the "Worst Confederate Traitors" in Congress and Kentucky's own Hal Rogers (R-KY5) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY2) make the list.

 

But it's not fair to Candy Barr and Thomas "wholly-owned subsidiary of a teenaged texas billionaire" Massie who haven't had a chance to demonstrate their treasonous bonafides beyond their votes to deny federal disaster aid to devastated victims of Superstorm Sandy.

For more and more Republicans-- particularly the Southerners who now dominate the party-- there is a widespread view, both among the electoral base and those they send to Congress, that the federal government is the enemy. They may not be able to force a return to the Antebellum South (i.e., slavery), but that doesn't mean that in their hearts they don't want to give it a try again. Everything about the mindset is pure reactionary and even if it doesn't have the strength to win national elections, it does have the strength to screw up the nation with lockstep obstructionism. It's all about looking backward-- if not to before the freeing of their slaves, at least to before FDR enslaved them, in their warped, brainwashed minds, by forcing white people to pay for blacks to get Social Security and Medicare. Sounds ugly? That, in a sentence is what the Republican Party is today.

As you can see in the video above (Meet the Press on Sunday), the country's most prominent black Republican, Colin Powell, has noticed that his party is on the verge of sinking itself into oblivion-- at least outside of the Old Confederacy. The party, he asserts, has shifted significantly to the right since Reagan's day and it has "a dark vein of intolerance” running through it and “if they don’t change along with the demographics, they're going to be in trouble.”

Striking out blindly and angrily, a significant number of House Republicans-- and more than a few GOP senators-- now appear willing to allow the whole American edifice to collapse-- just like their ancestors-- who remained unpunished for their treason-- did in the 1860s.

SNIP

there are dozens of Confederate obstructionists in the House Republican Caucus with lifetime ProgressivePunch voting scores of crucial issues that are less than 4.0 (out of 100). They are as opposed to America as any al Qaeda terrorist-- often for the same basic Bronze Age reasons-- and they will continue to do all they can to disrupt the smooth functioning of a government they see, basically, as an occupying power that confiscated their ancestors' slaves. The worst Confederate traitors in Congress (by the numbers):

 Read the whole thing.

Krysten Sinema FTW

From Immoral Minority:

Courtesy of Patheos:

 In case you were wondering, newly-elected Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), the sole religiously “unaffiliated” member of Congress (but, whatever you do, don’t call her an atheist), was recently sworn in by Speaker of the House John Boehner. 

So what is that she’s swearing on? Is it a Bible? 

I asked her staff and they told me it was a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

Let me count the ways that I LOVE this!

First we had Hindu Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard sworn in using the Bhagavad-Gita, and now we have this. This is a great day for those who are tired of the Christo-fascists trying to hijack our country.

And the best part? The best part is, what they can they say against her choice of using the Constitution?

Not a damn thing!

In fact I think that EVERY new Senator and House member should be sworn in using the US Constitution. After all they were not elected to defend the Ten Commandments, they were elected to defend the Constitution.

And it is about damn time they were reminded of that fact!

I saw Sinema on MHP Saturday and was blown away by her smarts, poise, wit and proud liberalism: She is going to give both Elizabeth Warren and Alan Grayson a run for their money.

Ky Rep. Files Bill to Repeal School Gun-Free Zones

He doesn't get the national publicity Wayne LaPierre and Rand Paul get, but new Northern Kentucky congress repug Thomas Massie is giving them a run for their racist guntard motherfucker money.

James R. Carroll and Antoinette Konz at the Courier:

Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie has introduced a bill to repeal the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, a move that would allow people to bring firearms into the nation’s schools.

Massie, R-4th District, and Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, introduced similar measures on the first day of the new Congress — and at the same time Democrats unveiled eight other bills to tighten the nation’s gun regulation in the wake of the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary massacre.


The Gun-Free School Zones Act states that it is “unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe is a school zone.” But Massie argued that the zones are “ineffective.’


“They make people less safe by inviting criminals into target-rich, no-risk environments,” Massie said in a statement. “Gun free zones prevent law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves, and create vulnerable populations that are targeted by criminals.”

And he's not letting any of them pointy-headed libruls - otherwise known as experts - confuse him with the facts.

Critics, including Kentucky educators, roundly opposed the Republican congressmen’s proposals, arguing that schools would be less safe.


“The last thing our schools need is an open season for carrying guns on campuses,” said Brad Hughes, spokesperson for the Kentucky School Boards Association. “We do not support more guns in schools unless they are on the hip of trained law-enforcement officer.”


Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, who is advocating for stronger gun controls, also disagreed with the proposals from Massie and Stockman.


“The Gun-Free School Zones law is designed to keep students from bringing guns to school and to ensure that there are serious consequences for those who do,” Yarmuth said in a statement. “Repealing the law would make it more difficult to hold offenders accountable.”

Nor is Massie going to let anybody out-ni**er him.

Massie said his legislation is in answer to calls from President Barack Obama and others for tougher gun restrictions after the Dec. 14 elementary school shootings in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 children and six staff members dead.

Meanwhile, in Lexington, the guntards vastly outnumbered the Newtown mourners:

Local ministers urged a crowd of about 150, shivering in Triangle Park, to unite for interfaith warmth and comfort in dealing with communal grief. Meanwhile, a much larger crowd waited to get into the Lexington Gun & Knife Show across the street at Heritage Hall.

Nobody in this country who does not work for law enforcement needs a gun. But boy are we ever in desperate need of some Motherfucker-OFF spray.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/01/05/2465755/two-events-in-downtown-lexington.html#storylink=cpy

Stop the Bullshit: The NRA is to Blame

If you don't get that, you're to blame, too, and you can sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up until we get some serious fucking gun-control laws in this country.

As for Jay Carney: No, you lying motherfucker, now IS the day to talk about gun control. Every day will be THE DAY to talk about strict federal gun control and nothing else until this administration shoves those laws down Congress' throats.

Down with Tyranny has the details on who in Congress the NRA has bought, and how much they paid. 



If repealing the second amendment is what it takes, fine. Do it.
See also Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money. 

And finally: Stop Fucking Praying and Start Fucking Working for Gun Control.

Free Money to Make Elections Work Better: Jump on This Now, Allison

OK, red and swing states: you can stop bitching about how making voting more attractive and convenient than a colonoscopy would just cost too much money.  Here's a bill in Congress that will give you federal money for doing it.

Steven Benen at Maddowblog:

(Thursday) Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) unveiled a bill they're calling the "Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely (FAST) Voting Act." Under their proposal, states that "aggressively" pursue election reforms would be rewarded with federal grants.

And what kind of reforms are proponents looking for? It's not a short list, but the Warner/Coons bill calls for flexible registration opportunities, including same-day registration; expanding early voting; "no-excuse" absentee voting; and "formal training of election officials, including state and county administrators and volunteers."

As best as I can tell, because the FAST Act is roughly modeled after the Race to the Top education initiative -- it's a competitive grant program, not a set of federal mandates.

In the House, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) unveiled a related proposal, the "Streamlining and Improving Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act," which is even more ambitious. Most notably, it would require 15 days of early voting in all states for federal elections -- and because Congress has authority over regulating federal elections, the assumption is states would simply apply identical standards for all down-ballot races.

The introduction of these bills now appears intended to lay the groundwork for future efforts. This Congress will wrap up next month, and given its to-do list, and the fact that every new Congress starts over with a blank slate, we'll almost certainly have to wait until the new year before voting reforms are considered. That said, it's encouraging to see some worthwhile proposals on the table.

 Memo to Kentucky Secretary of state Allison Lundergan Grimes:  "Kentucky is all over the Race to the Top (of Stupidity) school grants; why not put the power of your office behind persuading our members of Congress to support the FAST Act so Kentucky can get money to establish early voting, expand voting hours and add more polling places, machines and workers.

If nothing else, the campaign will give you something to beat Mitch McConnell over the head with when you run against him in 2014."

"Artificial Crisis to Steal from the Middle Class"

Plan to DVR the House of Representatives on C-SPAN every day starting in January, because Alan Grayson is going to provide non-stop entertainment making repug - and Blue Dog - heads explode.